Violinists Aren't THAT Bad
by flying-grayson-girl
Summary: A series of one-shots in which Maka is a violinist and Soul is a pianist who can't stand people with her particular talent. But there's something about this violinist that Soul just clicks with, something that connect the two more than Soul ever imagined was possible. SoulXMaka with hints of BlackStarXTsubaki and KidXLiz.
1. The School Scene

Chapter 1

The beginning of the day started like usual—waking up, the maid yelling into his room to wake up, getting up from bed, showering, looking through a huge wardrobe just for something to wear that was 'acceptable' before going downstairs, eating the fine cereal placed before him. He'd see his mother sitting at one end of the table while his dad was at the other. On his father's right was his older brother, and the seat to his father's left was reserved for himself.

"Soul, you look quite nice today," His mother commented, delicately using her fork to eat a small piece of strawberry off of her plate as Soul heard her slight British accent. "Is that Christian Dior? It looks delightful on you," The white haired woman told him, her hair done up in a French bun, two ringlets left on either side of her face.

"Thanks, mother," He told her, trying not to grit his teeth as he stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth. He looked up, his ruby red eyes burning as he looked to his brother. All he did was shrug and take a bite of his own food, his own red eyes a more friendly copy of his younger brother's. His hair was another comparison, a striking white that they'd both inherited from their mother.

"It looks as if your grades are doing nicely, Soul," His father said—a very opposite version of his wife when it came to looks. His eyes were baby blue with a little bit of silver around the pupil, his hair a golden blonde cut short. Even at his older age, he had a full head of hair, his skin bare of wrinkles except for those around his eyes.

"I've been trying, father," Soul replied, this time with a little less anger in his eyes; his dad was only getting his mom off of the subject at hand.

"Wes, we've planned a concert this weekend, at which you'll be the main performance. Your brother will be playing before you, as an opening, along with one of the men you've performed with before—that Berkley gentleman, you remember, with an exceptional cello ability?" She asked of her oldest son, sipping her tea innocently enough.

"Well, I'll be going now," Soul said as he pushed his chair back—the scraping of the feet against the wooden floor intentional, his mother's flinch almost making him smile—before he picked up his book sack. Before his mother could say anything, he was out of the room and heading for the door to the garage.

Soul had parked in the parking lot once he got to school, pulling out a bag that he packed every night before he went to sleep. Packed inside his bag, it held clothes—stuff much more comfortable than the stuff he had to wear in front of his parents and family friends. Rarely he wore comfortable shorts or a t-shirt around the house, only when his favorite maids or butlers were around. Otherwise, it was semi-formal clothes that was worn as it was supposed to; no loosened collars or pants without belts. And god forbid he wear converse or cheap polo shoes.

He picked up the bag, slinging it over his shoulder as he pulled off the outer jacket—a hoodie, specially designed for him by his mother and some special fashion company—and headed towards the school building.

School didn't open until eight thirty on any day, but Soul was early; usually, he was early anyway. With him and his friends being early risers, they usually met here knowing that Soul would be there for a quick game of basketball that would end in some kind of bet. But today, he didn't want to worry about Blackstar's big mouth or Kid's OCD, not even Liz or Patti's cheer. Right now, he just wanted to be alone.

So he headed inside, using the little trick he and his friends knew worked on the second door from the right to get it to unlock. Then, it was to the boys' bathroom, where he quickly changed into a pair of aeropostale and a kind of tight fitting, orange American Eagle t-shirt with ruined print on it. And for shoes, it was his nice, comfortable pair of air max. Over his shirt he wore an old worn leather jacket, his black hair band finishing off the look. Once done, he headed to the middle of the huge school, stuffing his bag in his locker before going outside to the eating area.

Pulling out his iphone, he plugged in the nice set of headphones he'd been carrying with him, putting them on his head before pressing play on one of his favorite songs. And up the large oak tree in the middle of the eating area he went.

Somehow, he found himself asleep as he woke up from the sound of the bell, many people shuffling down below to get to class. But other than the last few, it was pretty deserted. So Soul reluctantly got up, taking off his large headphones and replacing them with earphones that would probably not upset the teachers as much as the headphones would. They usually let him slide if he used earphones, thankfully. Whenever he was passing with such good grades as him, they didn't usually care if he even skipped class altogether.

But since he'd missed most of his classes yesterday, he had to go. He'd already told himself that he should, no matter how the hell he was feeling in the morning. So here he was, walking in late to class as he heard the class murmuring the pledge while he was being followed by his teacher's hard glare. But he only sat down in his regular seat, next to Kid—a.k.a. the son of one of the biggest protection agencies in the country's owner; not to mention the son of the principal of the school. Then it was Blackstar, a kid with serious problems, such as the fact that ever since he'd taken one martial arts class in sixth grade, he'd begun going on and on about how he was going to surpass god.

Then came the tall girl with a taller black ponytail sitting next to the blue haired Blackstar, Tsubaki. The girl looked older than most of the girls in class—her bigger than most bust helped with that—and was the daughter of a kind of close family friend of Soul's family.

Then the older of the two Thompson sisters, Elizabeth 'Liz' Thompson. Her hair was a dusty blonde a little darker than her younger sister's, who wasn't even in the class, being a grade lower than all of them. But the two weren't exactly rich, like most of them, at least not directly. They'd run away from home when they were younger, but still they were sent supplies or clothes or money on a regular basis from their loving father. They had grown up with Soul as a kid, Liz becoming an older sister to both Patti, her little sister, and Soul.

Blackstar, while one of their best friends, was the strange one out of their group. While he was one of the key members of the many teens, he wasn't the kid of some influential business family nor did he have some huge inheritance that he would receive once he got older. And he wasn't at school because his parents were able to pay the huge tuition—actually, both of his parents were gone, both dead from suicide or in jail, no one really knew, not even his closest friends. The only reason he went there was because his guardian was a high ranking staff member at the school, who was close to the principal.

And the entire group was considered '_the_ group' of the Shibusen Academy of the Arts, the exclusive, expensive school that they attended.

"Well class, you know the drill. Twenty minute homeroom then head to your classes. Just stay quiet and it'll be good," Their teacher said, sitting down in his chair with a book in hand, diligently reading the new book of the day.

"So Soul, did you hear about the new girl that everyone was seeing in Lord Death's office?" Blackstar asked his white haired friend, referring to Kid's father who, hard to believe, really had the name Death. And because of his position, everyone called him Lord Death.

"What? Someone _new_ at Shibusen? Don't we have every gifted person in a thousand mile radius living in the dorms?" Tsubaki asked her boyfriend—yes, they were going out—with confusion written on her face. "Kid, do you know anything about a new girl?" She asked Kid—who was fighting silently with Liz about the three white stripes on only half of his black hair, because they weren't symmetrical.

He composed himself quickly, straightening out the hair he'd been attempting to pull out his hair. "Actually, my father was telling me about the girl this morning—a prodigy, really, with the violin. Undiscovered talent, my father said about her, but kind of reserved from the meeting he had with the girl and her mother, who had to do it over Skype," Kid said, tightening the knot of his tie as his golden eyes turned to the asymmetrical Blackstar. Somehow, a fight started over his girlfriend's clothes, which was mainly about the different length socks.

"I wonder why we haven't seen her yet," Tsubaki said, completely ignoring her beau and friend to talk with Soul—who, at that point, really couldn't care less. "Most of the dorm kids are here earlier—well, not earlier than us," She amended herself, smiling sheepishly.

"Might be like most girls—can't get here without working on her hair for an hour," Soul said, his head lying with his earphone-free ear in the air.

"Hey, what do you mean by that runt?" Liz paused from calming down Kid to turn her attention to Soul, who was almost like her little brother since they'd grown up together. "Are you saying that all girls take an hour to do their hair? And is that an insult to womankind?"

"Nope. Most take more time than that. _You_ take _way _more time than that. And before you say I'm wrong, remember that I wait on you almost every morning," Soul replied dryly, his red eyes looking up at his 'sister' with annoyance. "But back to the new girl; why's it such a big deal? She's just some rich girl who's probably here to skip over some big step on her way to fame. Bet she won't have much trouble here—record companies or managers are always looking for new meat when it comes to talent at the school my brother came from," Soul said hotly, picking up the attention of kid once again.

"Oh, I guess I left that out—she's a scholarship student, fully paid by my father with the condition that she's not allowed to leave the school due to partnerships, contracts, or managers for a certain amount of time—or else she pays all of the money my father gave her, in full. Which, even if she has money, would be a problem," Kid explained, causing most of the teenagers surrounding him to look at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"You knew about this in the first place and you didn't think to explain?" Soul asked his friend, rolling his eyes as his head laid back down on the desk. "Well, all I know is that I'm not even trying to get into that. I don't need any more fan girls; twenty thousand is enough."

"Is this Mr. Renard's class?" A quiet voice asked, her voice loud in the somewhat quiet room. But as soon as everyone heard her, they went silent as they turned to stare.

Soul, who was half asleep, didn't pick up his head, choosing to instead sleep away his curiosity. But once he felt Liz nudge his side rather roughly with her elbow, he looked up in annoyance, finding his eyes filled with the sight of a blonde.

The new girl was shorter than all of the girls in Soul's group, without a doubt, with blonde hair held up in twin pigtails and not an ounce of makeup on her face. But it wasn't her lack of makeup or hair color that caught Soul—it was her green eyes.

Her eyes were beautiful, a dark, mesmerizing shade that shined without tears in her eyes. And they reminded her of a cat's, somehow—not in shape of the overall eye or the pupil, but simply the color or the way they looked. No girl Soul had ever met had had eyes as intense as the girl before him. "Ah, Maka Albarn, correct? Just take a seat next to miss Nakatsukasa over there and, if you need help getting around school, mister Evans shares a music major; his class is close to yours."

She nodded, a small smile appearing on her face as she found sight of something on the teacher's desk. "That book is really good Mr. Renard. It's actually one of my favorites—although my list goes on and on," She said, only taking her seat after being praised by the teacher for reading, unlike many of her classmates.

Tsubaki, ever the nice and kind one, then turned away from her friends to speak to the girl—but was thrown off by her as she found her pulling out a book, this one much smaller than the teacher's. "Well, at least we know what she does with her time. Now, if any of you don't mind, I'm—" Soul began saying, his head getting closer and closer to the desk before the bell finally decided to ring.

Groaning, the white haired boy picked up his bag and got out of his seat, lazily walking towards the door; only to walk right into the new girl. He moaned as he found his stuff scattered across the floor, the girl's stuff still securely stuffed into her own black bag. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought that I could make it through the small space between you and the door, but I guess I was wrong, huh?" The girl asked, bending down to pick up Soul's books and everything else that tumbled out.

But he was still standing straight up, thrown for a loop with this girl. Did she have _eyes_? Or was she blind? Did she know who he was? Because he'd never met a straight girl—save Liz, Patti, and Tsubaki—that didn't do a double take when they saw him or try to flirt with him. It just didn't seem natural at that point of his life, after so many years of girls trying everything to go out with him.

After a minute of staring uselessly at the top of the girl's head, Soul finally crouched down to give her a hand. But surprisingly, she was already done, handing him everything in a neat pile. "Oh, my name's Maka, by the way—if Mr. Renard didn't make it obvious when I walked in. And you must be…?" She asked, causing him to shake his head, snapping him out of his stupor.

He extended his hand, taking hers to shake. "Uh, Soul Evans—but all of my friends call me Soul Eater," Soul replied, slight smile on his face.

"Oh, so you're the one Mr. Renard was telling me about. Well, if you wouldn't mind, could you show me the way to the violin classroom before the bell rings?" She asked, once again alerting Soul to the reason why he probably wouldn't like her. Violinists never really got along with him. "…because this place is unimaginably huge and the map didn't even begin helping me find my way. You don't mind, right?" Maka asked, large green eyes looking up at him with no flirtatious sparkle or conniving look to the otherwise perfect green.

"Sure," He said, surprising even himself—much less his friends that he knew were watching from the hallway, probably waiting for him. So when he began walking with the girl, it wasn't only him that was stunned. All of his friends were too, their eyes wide and mouths agape as they watched their friend walk away with a girl. The first girl he'd said more than five words to since he'd met his friends.

Maybe violinists weren't so bad after all.

**A/N: I don't know if I should make this into a fanfic or a series of oneshots. Because either way, there are going to be other parts including violinist Maka (who, by the way, only plays music to make her mother happy, not because she feels the emotion in it) and popular Soul. But with oneshots, I'll be taking ideas or prompts for help. **

**So if you want one-shots, give me what you want as the main prompt or idea. But if more people want this to be a fic, this will become a ten to fifteen length (supposedly) story. **


	2. Douche Bag

Douche Bag

The first words that entered the ashy blonde's head were 'douche bag'. Just the fact that his hand had started out on her knee wasn't that bad—it was the fact that, as time went on, the hand kept on getting higher and higher up her toned legs, until she could barely stand it anymore. She finally just gave in, letting her book do the talking.

A five inch thick tome fell upon the man's other hand, which was sitting innocently enough on top of the table. She held back her smile as he heard him curse, stringing profanities behind her as he watched her walk right out of his life. And while screaming and gingerly tending to his injured hand, the only thing the blonde haired, green eyed girl could do was smirk as she knew the pain she'd put the pervert in.

Pulling her hair out of the tight bun she'd put it in, the blonde hailed a cab—finding one of her favorites sitting in the driver's seat. "This one another let down, Maka?" The man asked, smiling at her through the rear view mirror as the girl—Maka—settled herself in the leather back seat.

"Let down? This one was a total pervert! His hand was coming back more than the waiter!" She complained, hands running through her hair. "But thanks for picking me up, Kilik; Just my luck that some rapist would be waiting in a different yellow car, huh?" She asked him with a smile, receiving a chuckle in reply.

"Knowing you Maka, you're probably right. Hey, same address and complex, right? Didn't move in the last…week that I've gotten you home?" Smiling, she nodded, pulling a mirror out of her purse to begin removing what little makeup she'd put on. "Did this one do anything especially stupid? Was he like the last one?" He asked, genuinely interested.

Rolling her eyes, Maka looked up at the rearview mirror, pointing at her pants. "I made _sure _that no guy would get their hand up a skirt before the date was even over. But somehow, he managed to get me even more pissed off than the last one; I think it had to do with the fact that I told him no _two thousand times _and he never got the idea," She told him, sitting comfortably as she waited out the rest of the ride, complaining with the driver until she got home.

Hopping out of the yellow cab, Maka stared up at the five story apartment complex, which wasn't actually that bad for the side of town it was on. She waved goodbye once she made it to the little room where the guard stayed all day, opening the gate for coming and going cars. Immediately she showed him ID, at which he nodded, opening the gate for her as she walked right in, carrying her heels in hand until she got to her apartment—top floor, all the way to the end of the row.

Inside, Maka could tell that Blair—her roommate—wasn't home. Firstly, the lights were off and her bedroom door was open, her TV turned off. Either she went to sleep earlier than usual, or she was out with one of the numerous guys on her list. And it meant she had to make do on her own for the night.

Somehow she didn't mind; she wanted to wait at least the night to be set up with another perverted guy.

The next morning, Maka woke up to someone jumping on her bed, laughing loud enough to wake her. "Blair? Why are you waking me up?" She asked, groaning as she pulled herself up a little bit more, stretching.

"Cause I wanted to tell you what I did last night, of course!" She replied, sitting Indian style on her friend's bed while pulling one of the few pillows Maka had thrown on the floor last night in her haste to go to sleep. "It was awesome! He even brought me chocolate! Which, you know I love because of how much I leave around the house. And then, after he picked me up, we headed to a seafood restaurant—his idea, because he knows I like fish so much, you see. Then, after dinner, we went back to his place and—" She said, only to be cut off by Maka.

"Blair, while I love hearing about the PG rated parts, I really don't want to hear about the R stuff. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be…"She said, curling back into her bed as her dusty blonde hair spread across her pillow.

"But Maka! That's what surprised me! We didn't even sleep together!" She exclaimed, almost like she herself was surprised. "He brought me to his apartment and we fell asleep on the couch after watching old Bones reruns. And he didn't even make a move, like he didn't care about getting me in bed with him. Do you think I'm getting fat or something, or is it just me and my crazy emotions?" Blair asked of her friend, picking the fuzzies off of Maka's pillow.

Maka sat up straight, surprised by her friend's words. "You mean he didn't stuff his tongue down your throat or anything? Did he put his arm around your shoulders or _something_?" Blair shook her head, a somewhat-smile on her face.

For a moment, the two of them were quiet, until Blair said, "I think he's the one, Maka." At which Maka stared at her friend, dumbstruck. "And I'm being completely, totally serious. I've never felt like this with a guy before—it's emotional, not physical attraction with him, Maka. And I don't think this is gonna happen again with anyone."

Maka smiled a little bit, a little surprised by the news. But, somehow, she knew her friend was right. "Blair…just promise that I'll be the Maid of Honor, kay? And no more setting me up on dates, please?"

Blair, smiling, nodded. "The first I can guarantee…but I give no promises for the second!" With a groan, Maka laid back in her bed and pulled the covers over her head, only to be pulled away as Blair forced her awake, saying something about already planning some new date for her.

All she could do about that was groan as she was pulled out of bed, clothes were thrown at her, and she was pushed into the bathroom, told to shower and clean up before the new guy got there.

The one thing Maka hated about weekends and Fridays…and every free day she ever had, besides Christmas, was that Blair always had a date set up for her. Besides the rare day where she forgot or couldn't find some guy, Maka would shower and relax on the couch with a goody book during her normal free time, all the while the TV playing on low in the background.

But that wasn't the fate of this Saturday. Actually, it was another blind date. And Blair was dressing her.

The combination never ended well.

So she allowed herself, barely, to let Blair dress her in a rather short black number that hugged every curve and put more emphasis on her barely-there-B-cup chest. It flowed smoothly, but snuggly to show off what the girl had; even if she didn't want it to.

She was shoved a pair of six inch black heels, the only straps there designed to hold it on, right behind the Achilles tendon. Because of the fact Blair had made her wear shoes like that almost every other day, Maka was barely concerned with tripping or falling or something because of the shoes. So she allowed it—and if the blind date was a douche bag, maybe they'd come in handy for 'defense'.

Before Maka left, she grabbed her little black purse (held pepper spray, taser, wallet, and extra ponytails in case the down hairstyle became a bother) and went under Blair's tough evaluation. She checked her dress, her hair, her shoes, and her makeup, even making sure that she was in a good enough mood to leave the apartment the two of them shared (although, half the time, her mood was semi-content, not even happy).

She walked outside once Blair gave her the okay, calling a cab to come pick her up seeing as she never got enough money (on her own) to buy her own car. Then, on her way to her date she went—albeit reluctantly, seeing as she almost already saw the end result of the night.

As soon as Maka saw him—clean cut, nice suit, standing tall with a big smile on his face as he spoke to the bartender—Maka thought he might be different from the others. Because, really, how many nice tailored people were perverted with bad manners?

It turned out that it was _a lot_.

Nearly an hour into the date, when only the appetizer was out and Maka was absently nibbling at the fried bowtie pasta and spinach dip, she had the urge to get up from the table without even having the common courtesy to say she was going to the bathroom. But no, she was going to get through this date, if it was the last thing she did.

But then, he had to go and talk about one of the touchiest subjects for the young woman who sat in front of him, idly picking at her food. "I mean, it's cool and all that a girl thinks she can go and beat a guy at track events, but how likely is it that she'll be able to beat out five guys?" He asked her, not even being careful of what her views were on the subject.

Maka twitched slightly, the corner of her mouth lifting in a smirk for the smallest of moments before she replied, "Really? And what do you think of a girl participating in Mixed Martial Arts?" She asked, taking a sip of her wine.

He rolled his eyes, almost as if he had heard this argument before, then proceeded to speak—until the point that he uttered a sentence that completely fried Maka's thought processes; at least, until the point she found her spare hardcover in her purse and used it to completely knock out the poor, unsuspecting weakling man. "And that'll teach you to say anything about female athletes," she said, sticking her nose up in the air as she strode away—until she reached the bar.

When she looked in, the blonde haired girl found only one open seat—next to a very strange, very peculiar white haired man who looked to be her age or a little bit older. But, preferring him over the date she'd left behind in the dining room, she gratefully took the last bar stool and looked up to the bartender. "Captain Jack Sparrow—on the rocks," She said, getting a nod as the bartender went to work.

"Well," the white haired guy said, almost lazily as he turned to her—showing off brilliant, bright red sapphire eyes. "That's something new," He said, jerking his chin in the direction of the drink now being prepared. "And so are you—at least to the bar. Got sick of all the dates?" He asked of her.

Maka sighed, nodding. "When you get as many blind dates as I do, you learn to get used to it. But this guy was just a pompous, retarded, self inflicted douche bag. Which I mean in the worst way possible, just so you know," She told the stranger. Although, a few minutes later, she turned to him with a suspicious shine to her eyes. "Wait, how do I know you're not stalking me or nothing? Not even the bartender knew about all my dates and he works here every Friday through Sunday."

The guy rolled his eyes, shrugging. "You _don't_ know; you've just got to trust me," He replied, extending his hand, at which I took it warily and shook it. "My name's Soul, by the way. Just to clear it up now. Your name?"

I nodded, pulling my hand away slowly. "Maka, although I'm a little weary about giving it to you. But I guess I just have to _trust _you," She replied sarcastically, smiling up at the bartender as he put her Captain Jack Sparrow right down in front of her. Gratefully, she took a few big, gulping sips before putting the glass back on the counter—along with the one third that was left in it. "So, what are you doing here on a Saturday night, when you could probably be out with some friends at a club or something?"

He shrugged, picking up his drink, the golden brown contents sloshing around. "It wasn't a big choice; either this place or a loud, crowded game with one of the loudest people I know. So I think this is the better choice," He took a sip. "And you?"

She looked down at her drink, glaring as she thought of the guy in the dining room area of the restaurant. "Blind date with a douche bag of a guy who doesn't think a girl can ever compete seriously in any athletic sport when, in reality, I'm one of the girls who has beaten tons and tons of guys! Can you believe that?" She asked, turning to him with an indignant look on her face—only to find Soul smirking. "What's that look for?"

He smiled and then laughed, receiving a few looks; especially one from the blonde in front of him. "Did you just hear yourself? You make it sound like every guy should think like you do. Although, I do understand why you just kicked his ass; he was a dick," He told her, downing the rest of his drink. "Plus, I'm friends with a couple of girls like you—well, one of the two. The other is too worried about her nails, but don't tell her I said anything. She'd probably kill me if she knew I said that."

Maka, now interested, kept on talking. "What do they do?" She asked, absently sipping her drink—which she knew would end up with her being a little buzzed.

"Well, Liz says she plays soccer, sometimes, and I believe her since I've seen it before. But sometimes, in the middle of the game, she'd stop what she was doing and look at her nails before she'd take off and slide tackle someone else on the field. And I wouldn't put it by her to do the same to me if I ever pissed her off. Oh, the joy of having an adopted sister," He said sarcastically.

"Wait, adopted as in…?" Maka asked him, eyes scrunching up in confusion.

"I don't mean really adopted. I've just known her since I was, like, two and she was five. And she's been a pain in the ass ever since—and her little sister is a little loony, but she's fun to be around. And she's good with boxing and all that, so you'd probably like her…well, you've probably like Liz more, but Patti's still fun to be around."

Most of the night was spent just talking—then, he said the five words that were usual the sure fire way to scare of Maka Albarn: "Wanna go to my place?"

She tensed up for a moment—which the white haired guy noticed, his face instantly screwing up in regret. "I totally didn't mean it like you just thought. I was just thinking that, since this place is about to close, we could continue it at my place. Just talking, if you want. Nothing else."

To Maka, the decision wouldn't usually be hard. Just say those first five or six words and it would immediately send her in the other direction; but, this time, it definitely felt different enough that she replied in a very different manner. "Yeah, sure. But I'm not completely sure that I want nothing else," She said with a smirk, holding her purse as she began pulling out some money.

But he stopped her hand midway to the counter with a fifty dollar bill by simply raising his own hand in a 'stop' gesture. "No, allow me. I've taken up your _valuable _time, I might as well pay your tab," He said, pulling a fifty of his own from his pocket and putting it under his own empty glass. "Come on, before they run us off."

And without another word, he grabbed her hand and led her out of the restaurant.

His place reminded her of the Hard Rock Café, which was one of the only things Maka could think of in comparison to this room she stood in. Hard wood floors, a few guitars hung on walls, not to mention a couple of platinum or gold records here and there on the walls. But she liked the vibe it gave off—or, more like the vibe he gave off when he was looking around at his room with something that resembled pride. "You have a glow," She said bluntly, taking a seat one of the sleek black leather couches.

"A glow?" He asked, receiving a brisk nod as she replied, "Yep. It reminds me of one of my friends when she was pregnant. All happy and stuff, you know?" Maka joked lightly, putting her feet up on the arm rest.

He chuckled, walking towards her only to reach out a hand to help her up. "Come on, let me show you around. There's _plenty _more than what you're looking at now. And I have a feeling you'll like the music room," Soul said, pulling her up by her hand, keeping it tightly in his as he led her throughout the entire house.

And when they saw the music room, the ashy blonde couldn't agree more with the white haired guy she'd gone home with: she _loved _the room.

Instruments of almost every kind were placed all around the room. Maka saw everything—guitars, drums, a cello or two, even some trumpets. She even spied a violin in a particularly dark corner of the room—with it being night and the light off, the only light came from the moon that shined through the big bay window on the far wall of the room. But it mostly shined on the large grand piano that sat in the middle of the room. "You play?" She asked him, stepping forward to sit on the bench.

"Yeah, ever since I was younger. You?" He asked her, quietly taking the spot next to her.

Of course, she nodded. "But only little songs. I remember Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Chopsticks—I know, terribly upbeat and everything, but I'm surprised I remember that much," She replied, fingers gliding over the white and black keys—which looked like old ivory, from the off white color she saw.

A few moments later, her gaze was drawn, once again, to the violin in the corner. But she shook off the feeling, turning her emerald eyes to his ruby. "Can you play just one song for me? Please?"

He looked reluctant; actually, he just looked like he was outright going to say no. But then his eyes softened, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "Yeah, sure. But don't blame me if you don't like it," He said, lifting his hands as he just started playing—something Maka had never heard before, most likely a personal composition. But Maka fell in love with it. It was dark in sound, but seductive, pulling her to the maker of the song. But she stayed put until the song ended, at which point Maka was holding back the urge to jump him where he sat.

"So…what'd you think of that?" He asked her, turning to where his face was only inches from hers. "I think it could use some work…but…if you like it…" He trailed off as she finally closed the distance between the two of them.

His lips were soft, yet domineering. Yet all he took was what she gave him—until the point where her tongue darted out, tracing his lips as she asked entrance. And he easily gave it to her, their tongues a fight of power that neither of them won—because, moments later, he pulled away to only rest his forehead against hers. His breathing was heavy, much like Maka's. Then his eyes opened, red clashing with green as her eyes told him all he needed to know. "Are you sure? I don't want to seem like a dick—" He said, only to be cut off by Maka's mouth on his.

Soul pulled her off of the bench moments later, once again leading her by hand out of the room and down the hall, Maka giggling all the while, until he opened the room at the end, revealing a large room with a king sized bed on the opposite end.

Then, the kissing started again. And with that, it got hotter and hotter for Maka, until she found it unbearable with even the small dress she'd put on. But it had a zipper. So, with some heavy breaths, she stopped. Soul, for a moment, looked a little hurt—until she turned around and pointed at her back. "I am _not _letting you rip this in your hurry to get it off. So, unzip it, please?" Of course, he willingly obeyed.

She shimmied out of it, leaving her in all of her fair skinned glory, the only exception being what was covered by black lace that Blair had _made _her wear. Maka's arms went around her stomach and chest, attempting to cover up what she thought looked terribly pale; but Soul walked up to her, pulling her arms away as he kissed her deeply, sweetly, whispering in her ear that she looked beautiful—which was the push she needed to join him as he pulled her to his bed.

Maka, while exhausted from what she'd just done, couldn't go to sleep. Maybe it was the excitement, or the slight soreness, or whatever, but she just couldn't close her eyes for anything else but blinking. And even that was hard.

She laid in the arms of Soul, who was sleeping peacefully, not even a snore coming from him. But she needed to do _something_ lest she go insane just laying around. So she gently pushed Soul's arms away from her and gathered her bra and panties before putting them on; and so she began exploring.

At first, she didn't know what was pulling her. Maybe food? Or drink, because god knew she probably needed something to quench her thirst after…that.

But no. Nothing like that. Actually, it was music.

When she passed the open music room, she felt the actual _pull _of the instruments inside, almost like they were calling her to play. But she shook her head and walked on—about two steps. Then she was walking back, peering into the room and right at the violin. Which, from this distance, looked a bit uncared for.

Slowly she walked in. She gazed around adoringly at all of the instruments, but only one held her full attention—the abandoned little violin in the corner. She felt the need to have the bow in her fingers, to feel the vibrations of the music that go through her body as she plays the music she treasures; although, only in certain peoples' presence, or none at all.

The first thing she did was carefully pick it up, plucking the strings to see if it was in tune. Of course, it was, perfectly so. No doubt, even if dusty and unused, Soul kept it perfectly in tune. Nothing less than perfect when it came to music and the instruments for Mr…well, she'd just have to go with Mr. Soul, since she didn't know his last name…which brought the song by Carried Underwood to mind, but she quickly pushed the thought away—I mean, everyone knew how _that _ended.

The second thing she did was wipe away the dust. She found an old rag laying around in a dresser drawer that was on the right side of the door. Inside, there were numerous things—picks, extra bows, sprays in the bottom cabinet, and rags. So she used one of the rags to wipe away the remaining dust—then, she picked it up and situated in the position that seemed so normal for her, it was almost as easy as breathing.

The first note was like heaven, the sound making Maka close her eyes in pleasure. She could practically feel the music throughout her entire body, something not many people could say. Hell, Maka barely understood how she did herself. It was just a feeling she got when she played, no matter what the instrument—although, it happened more so with a violin.

She played for a long time. New compositions, stuff she came up with for simple fun. But by the end of it, she was laughing at her pure silliness.

But her laughing stopped outright as she heard clapping. Turning around, she found the sparkling red eyes and smirking face of Soul—the visible teeth reminding her that she had a nasty hickey at the base of her neck, towards her back.

Her playing stopped as she pulled the violin away from her shoulder and let it and the bow hang at her sides. Silence engulfed the two for a moment, until finally she just said, "I'm sorry—" Only to be cut off by him, saying at the same time, "That was really—"

For a moment, Maka laughed a little; at the same time, she was taking in his appearance. His ripped muscles, glinting with somewhat dried sweat, the fact that he has on nothing but boxers and the fact that he looked very, _very _hot in nothing else. "Well," Soul said, snapping Maka out of her stupor with a chuckle. "While I love having someone admiring my body, I was just going to say something about how well you play. And the fact that the poor thing doesn't get played very much."

Maka looked down at the beautiful instrument, then back to the man she'd just slept with. "I don't understand why. Violin is simply divine—or, at least that's the violinist in me talking. But why do you have an instrument you don't like to play, then?" She asked him, sitting down at the bay window and putting the small instrument in her lap, the bow at her side. "I would kill to have something like this, you know. But instead, my money goes to food and rent and clothing, most of which me and Blair don't even need, but she says it'll help with getting a guy, as she says," At her last words, she blushed a little bit, thinking just how wrong Blair was.

Soul shrugged, coming to sit down across from her on the bay, legs entwining with hers. "Don't get me wrong—I have no offense against violinists and everything. I just…prefer other music," He said, sighing as he turned his head to look out the second story window. "I think it's because my brother plays it, to tell you the truth."

Surprised, Maka turned to stare at him, curious. "Why do you think that?"

He shrugged again, at a loss for a definite answer. "Ever since I was old enough to play piano—which is _my _instrument—my brother's been there playing the violin, upstaging me before I even knew about it. Of course, my entire musically inclined family preferred him over me, since his music was easier to enjoy than my…darker, stuff. Which, I mean, I kind of get, but it doesn't mean I can't be upset about it," He said, turning to look at her again. "Funny, how I've known you for only a night and have spilled my most guarded feelings, huh?"

She smiled, putting aside the violin to crawl over to his side of bay, sitting in between his legs with her upper back and head resting on his chest. "Actually," She whispered, sighing as he put his arms around her small frame. "It's not funny at all. You've just found someone to trust, just like me."

All he could do was smile as he fell asleep to the sweet tune of her breathing, and her to his.

When Maka woke up, it was to the sound of the front door opening and closing, a loud slam in the quiet of the early morning. But it didn't seem to faze the still sleeping Soul, his breathing a rhythmic reminder that he was still there.

And ignoring someone just entering his house.

So the sleepy Maka did the only thing she could think of: she woke him up. "Soul," She whispered, half asleep still, using all of the energy she might have to shake his arm, to shake _him. _"Wake up. Someone's in the house," She murmured, barely able to make out the words as sleep fought to take her again. "Come on. It's Sunday morning and someone's breaking in—do something!"

She heard him chuckle as he simply tightened his hold around her, pushing his nose into the crook of her neck. "You don't have to worry—it's just Liz and Patti, here for their weekly Sunday breakfast with me and some of our friends…oh shit! This is bad," He said, jumping up and startling Maka awake. At which point she turned to glare at him, before smiling and nearly laughing at his frantic pacing.

"Soul, what's so bad about that? You said they're like your sisters, right?" She asked him, receiving a jerky nod in reply as his ruby eyes looked at her with a little annoyance; almost immediately, his eyes turned to liquid ruby, but the lines on his face told her that he was still a little worried.

"Yeah, they're like sisters—with bigger mouths than anybody I've ever met, which is saying something when you meet one of my friends. But not only will I get hell if they see me walking out of here like this, they'll also keep on giving you a hard time trying to get the details of what happened, especially since you're in…practically nothing," He said, his voice ending in a slight growl as he rushed her, kissing her right on the mouth.

As she pulled away, he groaned and followed her lips, only stopping when he found her fingers blocking his way. "You know, you shouldn't stop a needy man from _getting_ what he needs. And with those fingers being the only things in the way…" He said, trailing off as he gently nibbled on them, taking advantage of the moment she giggled and pulled her fingers away to kiss her once more.

This time, he was the one who pulled away, resting his forehead against hers as he looked right in her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to go out and distract them downstairs while you head to the room and get dressed. Then…we'll improvise from there. I don't wanna get hell and I doubt you do either," He said, pulling away slightly as she shrugged. "You mean you don't care if some girl asks you a million questions about what you did with me last night?"

Maka nodded, a smile breaking out on her face that even made her eyes brighter. "I'm going to get 20 _thousand _questions when I get back to my place already, so why not do it with someone I _know _won't tell someone I already know. Like my dad or something. Because god knows that my friend would let it slip to my dad one way or another. But if you want to keep it a secret…" She trailed off, pulling away to sit back down on the bay with an arrogant smile on her face as she kept his kisses at bay. Although it _was _a little hard.

He gave her a pout as he began walking away, looking back numerous times before he finally slipped out of the room—to the sound of a girl asking him just what the hell he'd been doing in the music room in only his boxers. Appropriately, he'd told her to fuck off, but as Maka heard the quiet, hurried footsteps of a girl, she knew she better hide.

And she found that hiding spot in the seat of the bay window—just big enough for her to fit in with some breathing room—and she quietly hid there as the door opened. All the while, Soul was protesting, saying things like 'what the hell would I do in there' or 'is it really any of your business'. But his protests grew quiet as the door opened and Maka knew the older girl was finally inside, listening and looking around most likely for any…activity. "Well, I guess I don't want to know then. Sleeping, in the room again? Try finding your bed next time kid. Now come on," She said, voice getting fainter as she walked farther away. "Kid and Patti are waiting down stairs and the other two are already on their way. Wouldn't want to miss your company, in your own house," She said flatly, until Maka couldn't hear her voice anymore.

After what seemed like forever, Maka finally got out of the hiding spot and waited in the room for a couple of minutes—all the while gazing adoringly at the violin, which sat on the seat where she'd left it last night. But she kept her hands firmly under her where she sat, making sure she didn't play it or even pluck its strings for the short time she was left there.

Then, once she was pretty sure the coast was clear in the hallway, Maka quietly crept out of the room—until she turned a corner and found herself face to face with a short, blue eyed, blonde haired girl. "Uh oh! Lizzy! There's a girl here!" She yelled, at which point Maka blushed and ran off towards the bedroom—to only, once again, be stopped by another blonde, this one with longer hair. "Oh, I knew he was hiding someone in that room of his! Come on, you're having breakfast with us!" She said, grabbing Maka by the arm and leading her—in all her barely covered glory—to the kitchen Soul hadn't thought important in the tour last night. Since it had…ended early.

Maka fought the entire way to the kitchen, giving the surprised Soul a sheepish grin as he rolled his eyes, at the blonde girl pulling her in there Maka hoped. "Liz, did you not think to at least let her go and get her clothes first?" He asked, getting up from his seat to go and escape to his room for a few minutes, coming back with a black silk robe that was a few sizes too big for her, the sleeves having to be pulled up and the bottom trailing the ground behind her. "Common courtesy." Maka, knowing everyone in the kitchen had already seen everything, shrugged the robe on but left it open as she found Soul sitting next to her, close enough where he pulled her into his arms and let her lean into his chest.

"Hey kid, don't get mouthy with me! What are you doing here with some half naked girl in your music room, from which you'd just come out of? Because I know that you wouldn't take advantage of a girl like that, _right_?" She asked him, practically telling him the answer she wanted to hear.

Soul was about to answer, but was cut off by the blushing Maka, whose hand was raised in the air as if she were still in school. "If it's any consolation, I was more than happy to go home with him. Well, not that I knew it was going to lead to this but…I didn't—and don't—mind, really," She told the older blonde, turning to hide her face in the long sleeves of the robe as everyone got quiet and turned to stare at her with amazement.

When she looked up, she was kissed right on the mouth by Soul, who was smiling that wicked smile of his that Maka seemed to adore. "Never got a girl who didn't make up excuses," He explained quickly, diving in for one more quick kiss. "I find it…cool," He said, getting a giggle out of her as she then sighed and turned to look at the people around the table and in the kitchen.

There were only three other people besides her and Soul. There were the two sisters, the ones Soul had told her about last night. Liz, the older, taller, dark blonde sister was trying to cook—or reheat, Maka didn't know—while the younger, shorter, golden blonde sister was laid out on the ground, coloring on a huge drawing pad with some jumbo crayons. And at the table, looking a little stupefied, was a guy Maka didn't know the name of. He was almost as tall as Soul but his hair was black, a stark contrast to Soul's natural white and spiky hair. But what confused Maka were the three white stripes that were only on half of his head. Were they natural or did he dye it like that? But she then noticed his golden eyes and the fact that his entire outfit seemed to be…symmetrical. Did he do that on purpose or something?

And why was he staring?

He cleared his throat, getting up slightly out of his seat to reach across and give her his hand to shake. "Death the Kid, pleasure to meet you…?"

Maka smiled and reached out her own hand to shake his. "Maka. Nice to meet you too. And you two are Liz and Patti, right?" She asked the two girls, both of whom nodded. "Soul told me about you two, how you three grew up together, right?" She asked the older sister since Patti was already lost in her own world again. Maka wondered how old she was, since she looked to be in her teens but acted like she might be five to ten years old.

"Oh, totally. His parents were total assholes and he usually spent time with us whenever they'd end up fawning over his brother—which was almost always, which I can't understand, since his music seemed to suck in comparison to Soul's piano playing!" Liz replied, almost indignantly. "But enough about us, we want to know about you. How old are you?"

Maka opened her mouth to answer but closed her mouth as Patti said, "You look sixteen to me!" She squealed, tearing off a sheet from the drawing pad before drawing on another one. "Isn't that illegal Soul?"

Soul rolled his eyes, while Maka's eyes took on a spark, almost like she'd been through it before. "I do not! How old do _you _think I look, Soul? And if you say sixteen, I'm going to kick your ass for being a pervert!" She threatened with a sweet smile, although it hardly pierced Soul's thoughts.

"Truly? Hmmm…I think the first time I saw you it was eighteen, but you seemed to look a little older every time I saw you and now I'd say…21?" He asked, red eyes bright with curiosity at the true answer. "Wait, how old do you think I am?" This time, it was still curiosity, but of the nervous kind that made his eyes change just the slightest.

"Well, when you told me the white hair was natural I thought 'oh god, I'm talking to a hundred year old guy' or something like that. But as you went on talking, I noticed that you didn't have wrinkles and that you have a decent taste in music—and last night proved it, because I don't think an old guy would've…gone as long," She said, blushing at the end as she looked up slightly at him. "But I'd say mid twenties?"

He nodded, leaning his chin on the top of her head. "Twenty three, to be exact," He said, pausing as he looked up at a pissed off Liz, since she'd been completely tuned out. "Oh, by all means, go on with the interrogation," Soul said, swinging his arm out as if giving her the floor in a court room, Maka thought to herself. The two really did seem like brother and sister, in her opinion, almost like herself and Blair.

Rolling her eyes, Liz ignored him and turned her eyes to Maka once again. "Well, what do you do for work? Because if you want to go out with this lug, you're probably going to need to make some money to support him," She said, laughing as she shook his head, almost in defeat. "Just kidding, since this kid as enough money to live as he is until he dies. But, anyway, job?"

Maka smiled gently. "Law, actually. I'm an attorney general, working for the state. I mostly work with murder cases, a few rape cases and stuff. I like the feeling when a bad guy goes to jail because of my hard work, especially those cases. And I'm kind of an investigator—which is where I got started, really. I go to the crime scene and try to piece things together. But when I saw that I'm not really, totally helping, I got into this instead. Because while I like bringing in the criminal, it's a lot better when it's my work that gets him convicted and permanently sent to jail," She told them, looking blank as she came out of her reverie. Even Soul looked a little in awe. "What'd I say?"

Soul shook his head, just pulling her tighter. "Nothing. I just think we're all shocked by your little speech. And it sounds cool by the way," He complimented her, giving her a peck on the top of her head. "Just so you know, she'll ask about your job, where you live, what you do in your free time, what's your favorite color, designer, and style, not to mention twenty thousand other ridiculous details she probably doesn't need to know but is nosy enough to ask."

Liz stomped her feet and stood straight, pointing a spatula at Soul. "I ask only what needs to be known, thank you very much! Now, someone get the door because I can already hear the idiot yelling outside!" She said, anger evident as she stomped back towards the food, tromping back with two huge serving plates filled with eggs and bacon, the hashbrowns still cooking next to the stove in a fryer.

Maka looked up at Soul with confusion in her eyes. Soul explained, "The Idiot means our loud, god proclaiming—as in himself—friend with blue hair, Blackstar. And I warn you now: he's worse than the three of these guys combined and you haven't even gotten half of the treatment they would give to anyone else in your situation," He told her. "Just ignore him and he'll shut up eventually."

Maka nodded, grabbing a couple of pieces of food from the trays before her. "Don't worry about me—remember how many guys I've dealt with, and remember what I told you about mixed martial arts and, especially, my books," She told him, smiling as he did.

The door opened and closed with slams, then a scream and yell, both from the same guy. "WAHOO! SAY HELLO TO HIS GREAT HIGHNESS! BLACKSTAR!" He yelled, running into the room—at which point Death the Kid put out his arm, promptly clothes lining the blue haired guy that was apparently trying to get on the table. And with the mud on those shoes, it wouldn't be healthy to have him stomping all over the food.

"Oh, so sorry Kid. You know how he gets," A quiet voice said, causing Maka to jump a bit in surprise. She _knew _that voice. And it was one _very _close to her and Blair…meaning that she'd be surprised to death to find Maka here, in the arms of the white haired, ruby eyed Soul. Which, how did she know him anyway? And why was she here? When did she start attending breakfast every Sunday morning? God, Tsubaki had a _lot _of explaining to do.

And in walked the gentle, quiet, black haired Tsubaki—who, as Maka had thought, jumped as she saw her best friend sitting in the kitchen with the others who were already there. "Oh, Maka. What are you doing here…in a robe that barely covers anything, since you're only in your underwear?"

Maka shrugged. "I stayed here last night and they pulled me out of the music room before I could get a chance to put clothes on and Soul here," Shirtless and boxer wearing Soul waved a little bit in hello. "Decided that it would be polite to at least let me wear a robe over this—even after they'd already seen me half naked. And get your dog's eyes off of me before I Maka Chop him into next week," She said tersely. Almost obediently Tsubaki pulled on Blackstar's collar, successfully pulling him away.

"Now that you mention it, maybe you should go get dressed. I'm headed there now," Soul told her, pulling her onto her feet as he got to his. "Now that you've met everyone, I think you should at least get a few minutes to get dressed. Then you can come back and make friends with everyone and eat." Nodding in agreement, Maka allowed herself to be picked up before she stood up on her feet, following him back to his room.

Along the way there, Soul looked at her appreciatively, . "While I loved the dress last night, I doubt you want to wear that again," He said, his face looking contemplative. "Come on. I think there are some clothes from when Patti and Liz sometimes stay over," He said, although his smirk was saying something completely different as he led her to a guest bedroom.

Without another word, she followed his lead. Anything to have some alone time with him.

When they got back downstairs—Maka clothed in some denim shorts from Rue 21 and a white tank top under a green, lacier one. She went shoeless, since none of the shoes fit her; they were either too big or too small. But something everyone noticed, when the couple came back to the kitchen, was that she looked flushed. And Soul was smiling, a smirk as he once again sat down with her in his arms.

"So…" Liz said, trailing off as she warily took in the two. "What took the two of you so long?" She asked, looking at them with some conviction in her eyes. "Because I doubt it takes that long to change."

Soul shrugged. "Well, do you want the long story or the short one?" He asked, at which Liz glared in his direction, as if it really mattered. With a sigh, he leaned back into the chair, his smirk now a simple smile. "Don't worry. We didn't do anything rated R. We just made out in the guest bedroom then I let her change…mostly. Nothing much."

Liz went pale, but instantly regained her composure as she pointed the spatula at Soul. "You better not have done anything on my bed you little brat! Because if you did…!" She said, trailing off as she ran her thumb across her own neck.

"You'll kill me? I mean I own the place and it's _my _room. So you can't kill me over making out with a girl in _my_ bed, in _my _room, now can you?" He pointed out arrogantly, perfectly suited to pointing out the obvious—the obviously annoying, to Liz. "But don't get your panties in a bunch. We didn't do anything else. Although you're probably going to want your clothes back, right?"

The blonde nodded, going reluctantly back to the food that was practically sizzling on the stove and the hashbrowns that were ready to be pulled out of the fryer. "Let her keep them. That shirt and those shorts don't fit anymore and they're too big for Patti. And kid, we'll be going out shopping after this, me Patti, and Tsubaki. You want to join us?"

Maka looked first to Soul, then to Tsubaki, as if she didn't know if she were welcome. But both of them nodded, encouraging her to go with them. "Yeah, sure. I could use some new clothes, I guess. When are we going?" She asked them, stretching before she picked up some food and put it on the plate in front of her.

Tsubaki shrugged. "Usually, we go after noon so we can hang out for a while beforehand. So, a few hours, give or take," She told her friend, warily eyeing Blackstar as he scarfed down whatever he could red; she actually had to stop him before he swallowed a napkin. "We could drop you off after we're done, kay? I bet Blair is just _dying _to hear why you weren't home last night."

With a groan, Maka laid her head upon the dining room table. "Oh my god, you're right. She's going to totally give me the third degree when I get home. Hey, would you mind if I came over here later, after I drop off all my stuff at my place?" Maka asked quickly, hoping that the answer would be yes, that she could come over. Because god knows what Blair would do if she found out about the two of them…together…all last night.

"Yeah, you can come over after. No prob," He replied, tightening his hold around her. "And if you two want to sleep over again, you're more than welcome to…although you might hear some noise during the night," Soul told his adopted sister with a smirk, laughing as both she and Tsubaki groaned and shuddered, grossed out once again by the white haired man.

"SOUL!" Liz yelled, receiving hands raised in a laughing surrender.

In the end, Soul decided to go shopping with the girls, if for nothing but being able to buy clothes for his new…Maka didn't know what they were at the moment. They seemed kind of close, but she knew not to think too fast. One miss-said word and it would probably be over between them; awkwardness tended to end many relationships from what Blair and Tsubaki had told her before.

By the time the shopping trip had ended, Maka hadn't bought too much. A couple of shirts, some shorts and a pair of skinny jeans, knee high converse and a pair of silver-gold heels, kind of an in between color. Somehow, Maka knew that Blair would like what she'd chosen. Her style had rubbed off on the younger girl, no matter how much she'd deny it when anyone stated something remotely close to that.

"So…how do you think you're going to pay me back?" Soul asked her as he drove her to her apartment to drop off her clothes before heading back to his place to hang out with his—and _her_—friends for a little while longer. And all she had to do was make a little detour beforehand…well, maybe a _big _detour, depending on how Blair took this little situation.

"Hmmm…I've no idea. But I could think of something," she said, playfully shoving him as they walked up the stairs to her and Blair's apartment. "_Something_ that includes the two of us…and a private room…and a bed. You think that might be enough?" She asked him, pulling out her keys as she handed over a couple of the bags he'd let her carry.

"Who said we needed a bed or a private room?" He asked her, putting a bag filled arm around her; but, moments later, he had to release as she scurried into the room, a smirk on her lips as she made a 'come hither' motion. "We don't. But you have to catch me first."

He smiled and nodded, taking off as soon as she did.

Maka didn't expect Blair to be home early.

When the purple haired woman usually was out, she only came home in the morning to shower and get dressed before going to work, at which she didn't come home until eight or nine, and then it was to shower again and head to another date. And it wasn't even _close _to eight or nine. It was maybe noon, at the latest.

She found them in the living room, making out to some music Soul had put on hours ago and was still playing in the background. Soul sat on the couch while Maka straddled him, which only lasted a few seconds after Blair walked in. Because she squealed and jumped away from Soul, looking very suspicious as Blair looked at the two with some interest.

And Maka knew that because the woman was smirking. "Nyah, Blair guesses Maka finally found a guy she likes!" She practically yowled, heading to the kitchen, where she put down her large purse. "Mind introducing us, Maka? Oh, and pull up your shirt, please? I doubt you want everyone seeing your chest!" She told her, causing Maka to blush and quickly pull up the lime green tank.

"Blair, this is Soul. Soul, this is Blair, my roommate and _very. Annoying. Friend_." She said, emphasizing the last words with gritted teeth, trying to make her friend get the message. "Well, if you don't mind, we're heading out. We just came to drop off some stuff that I bought today. See you later," Maka said shortly, straightening up as she pulled a quietly laughing Soul off of the couch, who was not quite ready to leave. Actually, it seemed like he wanted to stay a little longer and see how it progressed.

"Kay Maka! But don't forget, guy like—"

"Got it Blair."

"And don't—"

"Kay."

"If you need any advice—"

"Okay, I'll remember," She said, slamming the door shut behind her as she heard Blair's giggles—and the chuckles from Soul. "What's so funny?" Maka tersely asked the ruby eyed man, glaring a little bit as her annoyance moved from Blair to him.

"Nothing just—"

"_AND DON'T FORGET PROTECTION!" _

At the muffled yell, Maka groaned and quickly pulled the laughing Soul down the stairs and back to his car, determined to leave her laughing roommate behind.


	3. Douche Bag part II

Interruptions

If there was one thing Maka knew about Soul, it was that he loved to go clubbing.

The ashy blonde was stuck in thought as she laid across Soul's couch, waiting for him to get out of the shower. She had decided not to join him when she'd figured that this would be the only time to think of something to do for _the night_. Because this wasn't just any night; it was the eve of their one year anniversary, when Soul had saved Maka from a terrible blind date by keeping her occupied at a bar.

So, for obvious reasons, Maka wanted to do something to thank the white haired, red eyed man who had swept her off her feet with a compelling conversation.

While Soul liked music, it was mostly of the jazz variety, something that Maka somewhat understood. Because most of the music he had compiled on his itunes playlist consisted of songs that could heat her up even when exhausted. There was just something about the sound that reminded her of everything Soul represented, especially how absolutely sexy he could be. It never failed to help her get over a fight with him, usually ending with some R rated action.

But because of his large interest in jazz, it left Maka and Soul with few clubs to choose from. While almost all of Maka's friends went to the popular, upbeat, dubstep clubs, Soul usually ended up dragging his somewhat willing girlfriend to a classy, semi-formal jazz club with music Maka barely knew how to dance to.

Which was why Maka was determined to do something about it.

She'd gone to Liz, Patti, and Tsubaki for help, gaining some willing helpers. They hardly ever went out clubbing with Soul due to his preferences and they wanted it to change. They wanted to actually _spend time _with their friend, and this was one of the few ways to do it—albeit tough.

"_You know what? I think this girl's pretty smart. Why didn't we ever think of this?" Elizabeth Thompson, more commonly known as Liz, said as she looked over her freshly painted nails. She looked up at her friends. "We just need to get some…encouragement. And I think that Maka is perfect for the job!" _

_Maka smiled, happy with how this meeting was turning out; she had expected some kind of resistance but had, thankfully, found none. "Well, the only thing is, I don't know how to get him in without him realizing we're at a club. He'll figure it out when we get to the front of the building and he hears all of the music!" She said, at a loss for ideas._

_Patti waved away Maka's concerns, leaning dangerously far back in her seat as she listened. "Don't worry; my Kiddo has connections!" She replied happily, Liz looking very triumphant, not to mention a little smug. _

"_Patti is so right! Kid has so many connections, and I know this one guy that we met before who owned a club. He brought us to dinner and then brought us through the restaurant and to the club. And it's one of the more popular, hard to get in clubs. But he can definitely get us in, no doubt!" Liz explained, Maka smiling as triumphantly as Liz had only moments ago. _

"_But, Maka," Tsubaki began timidly. "Don't you think that Soul will be a little suspicious if you suddenly lead him to the back of the restaurant?" _

_Maka shook her head, a knowing smirk on her face. "He'll probably just think that we're going to have a fling in the bathroom or something; he trusts me enough to follow, even if it's a little fishy. Plus, he's pretty much wrapped around my little finger," She replied with an arrogant little smirk, toying with a stray lock of her hair. "Trust me when I say he'll follow me to the club you guys. I just need the guy to let us in; you're sure you can make it work, Liz?" _

_The older woman grinned, nodding. "I'm so sure that I'd bet all my beauty supplies on it—but I won't. Because I would never risk my makeup for Soul, just saying." _

By the end of the conversation, Liz had called the guy who owned the club and scheduled a date with him, gaining access for all of Liz's friends for the night. All Maka had to do was flash ID at the restaurant club entrance and she was in along with Soul. The rest of her friends would leave before Soul and Maka's dinner was over, so that Maka could try and get Soul to do something without the worry of his friends watching.

But, knowing Soul, it would still be hard for Maka to get him away from either the bar or wherever the hell he was sitting. Because he was not the type to dance to music that did not appeal to him, even though Maka had begged him time and time again. Especially when she loved the feel of moving to the music, dancing to the beat and showing off how one's body could move.

Soul only saw the appeal when it had to do with smooth jazz. And that was about to change, whether he wanted to or not.

Maka was jerked out of her thoughts when she heard the sudden slam of a door within the large expanse of Soul's apartment, signaling that Soul's shower was finally done. And it was confirmed when Soul came in with a sharp toothed grin, nothing but a towel around his waist and a smaller one drying his hair. "I'm surprised you waited so long," He told her, tossing the towel in his hand on the couch armrest, sitting down where Maka's legs ended. She only waited a moment before draping them on his lap, eyes closed and smiling as he began massaging her feet.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that three days from now I've made plans for the two of us. So don't you dare try to get out of them, Soul!" She replied, tilting her head back to rest it on the pillow behind her. "I went through a lot of trouble to make these plans and you are not going to miss it!"

Soul chuckled, turning and practically laying himself on top of her as her eyes popped open, emerald green meeting amused crimson. "Uh uh Soul. I've gotta get going so I can get to sleep early; I'm going out with the girls to find a dress for our little date. And you know how pissed they get when you're the source of me being late," She said, kissing him on the cheek as she pushed him off of her. But she didn't get far, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her back onto the couch. "_Soul!~ _I gotta go! I'm not gonna get chewed out because of you," Maka said, her complaints almost silenced as he begin leaving light butterfly kisses down the back of her neck.

She snapped out of it as her cell phone rang, quickly slapping Soul's hands to make him let go. Taking advantage, Maka jumped up and headed to the kitchen, where her ringing phone sat on the kitchen counter. She vaguely noticed that Soul had followed her, more interested in who was calling her. When she saw that it was Blair, she immediately picked it up, shushing Soul with a finger to her lips. "Maka-chan! You were supposed to be home already!" Blair's high pitched voice yelled into the phone, causing Maka to flinch from the volume.

"Blair! _Blair_! I'm fine and I'm heading home in a couple of minutes. But what's got you so worked up?" Maka asked, pulling on her shoes and collecting her small purse before giving Soul a quick kiss on the lips goodbye, mouthing a quick 'I love you' as she heard a giggle come from the phone—a sign that Blair was either excited about something or trying to keep something a secret.

"I've just got some great news that I'm sure you'll want to hear. Ren is here and I told him I wouldn't keep him too long. But you're taking for_ever_~" Blair said, probably pouting from what Maka could hear.

Maka waved goodbye as she made it to the door, blowing him a playful kiss for good measure before she finally closed the door behind her. She could hear his chuckles even as she walked away, probably at her for hurrying out of there for the sake of Blair. "Don't blame me! I had to tell Soul about our date but he was taking such a long time to get out of the shower. So, it is _not _my fault. It's his," She replied, matter of factly as she got to the bottom of the stairs, hopping in the car she'd finally managed to buy—with, she hated to admit, the help of Soul, who wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Well I just hope you get here soon or else I'm locking the door Maka-chan~ Bye!" Blair said, promptly hanging up on the stunned blonde who was just driving out of the parking lot. Peeved, she threw the annoying phone into the passenger seat, deciding that she would just ignore any calls when she was at Soul's; they always managed to interrupt something anyway.

When she got to her own apartment, Maka was quick to pull out her keys, just in case Blair had actually gone through with her threat. But when she got to the door she found that it opened without a problem. So she locked it behind her, just to make sure that no one decided to just walk in during the night. "Blair, I'm back!" Maka yelled into the apartment, hearing a muffled giggle and deep laugh come from the tiny kitchen/dining room.

"We're in the kitchen Maka-chan!" Blair yelled back, once again giggling. "We left a plate of dinner out in case you didn't eat at Soul-kun's," She said, surprising Maka by the gratitude, even if she had already eaten.

"Thanks, but Soul made food before I got there, Japanese and you wouldn't believe—" Maka said, cutting herself off as she turned the corner into the kitchen to find Blair sitting with her dark haired boyfriend of a year and a few weeks. "Ren, it's nice to see you but the two of you look like you're hiding something," Maka told him, dropping her purse on the counter as she kicked off her shoes next to the counter.

"Well, I wouldn't say we were hiding it," Ren said, smiling as his thumb ran over the back of Blair's hand, rare PDA. Which meant it was big. "We actually have something we wanted to tell you. But I think I'll let Blair tell you about it."

Maka turned to the smiling Blair, a little apprehensive. "Maka, remember when you told me that you wanted to be the Maid of Honor at my wedding? Well…I wanted to officially ask you if you wanted the position at our…wedding."

The blonde froze for a minute, completely at a loss for words for a long moment—before she squealed and ran full speed at her purple haired friend, giving her a huge hug that nearly threw her from her seat. "Yes, yes, _yes!_ I have never meant yes so much as now!" Maka babbled, resisting the urge to jump up and down in excitement like a little girl. "I would be honored, Blair! When did he propose?"

Blair laughed, pulling away from Maka a little to look her in the face, showing off her diamond ring. "Earlier tonight, at dinner. He totally surprised me by putting it on the strap of my phone while I was in the bathroom; I was totally and complete speechless, not to mention impressed. It was pretty original," The woman bragged of her fiancé, turning to grin at Ren. "I've never felt more loved than that moment."

At the look of romance between the two, Maka knew it was time to escape. "Congratulations you two. But I've got to go to bed for my shopping trip tomorrow. Blair, are you coming with us? It's Tsubaki, Liz, and Patti, maybe their men. I'll need help with ling_erie_," She said, catching Blair's attention almost immediately, even if barely. "I'll even get you an engagement present," Maka coaxed with a smile.

Ren smiled before standing up and stretching. "While I enjoy talk about lingerie—and envisioning Blair in said clothing," He said, grinning playfully as he spotted Maka's disgusted look. "I have to get up to leave for a job tomorrow. I only spent so long because I won't be in town for a while and wanted to see Blair before I left. I'll see you later," Ren said, bending down to give his girlfriend—_fiancé_, Maka corrected—a kiss goodbye, not much unlike Maka had given to Soul only a little while before.

As Maka headed to the bathroom to clean up before bed, she heard Blair telling Ren goodbye at the door and the soft click of the door closing behind Ren. "Maka, I forgot to tell you that I'm more than happy to help with shopping tomorrow! But I'm waking you up early so we can have breakfast; we need to have a long talk about you and Soul~," The woman yelled across their apartment, causing someone from the apartment over to hit the wall in annoyance. "Screw you jackass!" Blair screamed in reply.

Maka could only laugh.

As soon as Blair jumped into her bed, Maka sat right up with her fingers running through knotted blonde hair. "Maka-chan~ Time to get up!" She trilled, giggling as she pulled Maka's pillow right out from under her, clutching it protectively. "Remember that you're the one who invited me; Liz called and said that we're going an hour earlier, so you should be ready…twenty minutes ago."

Still half asleep, Maka got out of bed and pulled out some denim shorts and a t-shirt, deciding on her favorite pair of converse for the day. She slowly got dressed, only really waking up when she headed to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. Then she realized her situation and hurried to put on the rest of what she needed to put on. She rushed around the house, Blair getting a few laughs out of her friend's problems.

"Maka, you don't need to make _breakfast_! Liz said she was taking us out to eat for breakfast since she had to push up the trip. So calm down!" Blair ordered a stressed out Maka Albarn. "Come on hun, come sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee—even though I think coffee would not be good for you at this point."

Maka, thankful for something to fully wake her up and get rid of her nerves, even if she didn't feel like really drinking the highly caffeinated drink. "Thanks a lot, Blair. I need this if I'm going to be shopping all day," She said, bringing the light blue mug to her lips—only for her nose to wrinkle in distaste as she got a whiff. "Actually, I think I'll pass, but thanks. I'll be in the bathroom fixing my mess of hair if—"

"MAKA! WE'RE HERE!" Patti yelled into the apartment as Maka let her forehead hit the table in hopelessness. Of course she wouldn't be able to fix her hair.

"Hey, are you ready or—whoa, I think you have a case of bed head, Maka," Liz said as she entered the kitchen, hardly having turned the corner before freezing at the sight of her friend's face flat on the table. "Blair, did you wake her up five minutes ago or something?" she deadpanned, moving to stand behind Maka, fingers deftly fixing her hair without Maka even noticing.

"_Hey! _It was ten minutes, thank you very much! Oh, and good morning," Blair replied with a smile, watching as Liz styled her friend's hair without hesitating in the least. "Give her cornrolls on half," She encouraged, Liz smirking as Maka gasped and immediately sat up, pulling her hair away from Liz. "Oh, come on Maka! It's just a few cornrolls."

But Maka didn't agree. "I would not like to have a sore scalp thank you very much. I'll just put it in a ponytail for today; it's the only thing I _can _do with it at this point," She told them, looking at the others expectedly. "Okay, so are you guys ready or are we going to wait until hell freezes over?"

"Yeah, we're ready. You two mind riding in the bag-mobile? I brought it thinking that we'd have a ton of stuff to tote around," Liz said, already walking towards the front door of Maka and Blair's apartment as everyone followed, Blair locking it behind her. "Because we are not just shopping for your date, Maka. You are getting a ton of outfits because I am sick of seeing you wear the same outfits over and over again. And lingerie; tons of lingerie. A girl can never have enough fancy underwear," She commented, jumping into the driver's seat as everyone filed into the large, gaudy white van that Liz only drove when ready to go on a shopping spree.

Maka always dreaded that damn van.

As promised, they ended up going to some restaurant for breakfast. It was a tiny, café like place with finger foods and—Maka's stomach churned at the thought—smelled of coffee. She hadn't minded the small place up until a few weeks ago when she'd walked in to work on a case…and immediately walked back out when she'd nearly gagged.

Fortunately she'd acclimated herself to the stench, enough that she could get through breakfast with her friends. They each ordered breakfast with a smile while Maka barely had the stomach for some bacon and a scrambled egg. But she knew that she had to eat something; if she didn't, her friends would be way too suspicious—even though there was nothing to be suspicious _of_.

But when someone ordered coffee and it was brought out with everything else, the smells were just too overwhelming; Maka could stand no more of the torture as she immediately stood up, knocking her chair back in her rush to get to the bathroom. And she managed to make it, just barely, as her stomach spew the contents that had managed to stay in her stomach overnight. And even after that it was dry gagging, which Maka thought was practically worse, her eyes watering twice as much.

Maka had never been more thankful for ponytails as she checked her hair, finding it clean and free from puke. She could hear the door to the bathroom open and close several times as her friends walked in, one after the other to check on her. It was only when Blair came in that Maka finally decided to leave the stall, wiping her mouth with a napkin as she looked up at Blair. "I know what you're thinking but you're wrong. I'm on the injections; there's only, like, a three percent chance that it'll fail. _Ever_."

Blair shrugged, sitting down on the dry part of the sink as she leaned back comfortably. "Somebody has to be that three percent Maka. I know it's not very likely, but it happens," She said, watching Maka as she cupped her hands to get some water, washing her mouth of the bile. "But hun…you need to get checked, just in case. Cuz if it's true, well, you'll need the proper care."

Maka sighed, arms braced on the counter top as she looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She definitely looked a little paler, a little sick. But that was most likely just from the fit she'd had in the stall, not with her maybe condition. "Fine. I'll get a test and I'll find out. But you've gotta keep this quiet Blair; if the others ask, I just had a little stomach problem and am totally over it already. We can keep on shopping—we've just _got _to get out of here, because the coffee is what set off this little episode."

Blair nodded, turning to check her hair before finally leaving the bathroom behind Maka, who tried to look better than she still felt. Because god help her if she truly was one of the three percent.

The first place they headed to was the biggest underwear store on earth: Victoria's Secret.

"Okay, I understand thongs, but I think there a reason it's called Victoria's _secret_," Maka remarked as she and Tsubaki looked through a bin of underwear, Maka finding several pair of crotchless panties. "The underwear is supposed to cover the _secret_. Guess they didn't get the memo."

"Well, I guess it does make for easy access," Tsubaki mumbled, looking up when she heard silence from her blonde haired friend. What she found was a very dumbfounded Maka, her mouth open wide in a surprised gape. "What, Maka?"

"…I never suspected you were the type, Tsubaki," Maka said with a humored smirk, giggling as she found the black hair girl blushing ten different shades of red.

"I-I-I didn't mean it that way!" Tsubaki replied, sighing as Maka waved off her concerns.

"Don't worry Tsubaki; as long as Patti doesn't find out, you're fine…which, unfortunately, she passed behind you just as you said that and is now on top of the mannequin looking like she's about to yell it to the heavens," Maka said, trying to cover her quickly growing case of giggles as Tsubaki watched the small blonde with terror in her eyes. "Liz, your sister, if you'd please?"

Rolling her eyes, Liz immediately walked up to her sister, pulling her down roughly by her arm. "Patti, remember what I told you about climbing mannequins at stores? That counts for VS too, you know," She scolded, only letting go of Patti when she was sure the younger blonde wouldn't take off for the doll again. "How about you look for some giraffe print underwear? I'll even buy them for you!"

With that crisis averted, Maka found herself being pulled this way and that, everyone pulling out stuff that they wanted her to try on, mostly lingerie, which Maka thought was just a sheer layer of lace covering almost all of her underwear. Some of them even ended above her panties, and she only like one or two of them. She didn't like the ones with feathers; they tickled and while she knew Soul would enjoy that, she didn't want her mind pulled away from him.

"While I love the choices guys, one more feathered piece of lingerie and I'm going to be puking feathers," Maka announced as she walked out in a little black number with feathers just dusting the top of the dark red panties, which matched the lacy red pushup bra. But she nearly regretted it as green eyes met red, spotting that sharp toothed smirk that she knew so well.

"And who might be puking feathers?" Soul asked, amused as Maka gasped and tried to cover herself up; the girls had said this was a _private _dressing room. "Don't worry; they let me in as soon as they spotted me in the mall. Actually, they pretty much pushed me in here and told me to rate the outfits. But I've got to say," He started, putting his hands around Maka's tiny waist and pulling her closer. "I think on a scale of one to ten, I'd say smoking hot."

And with that, his lips met her in a _very _smoking hot kiss, Maka giving in with relative ease as his tongue asked for entrance. God she always missed his lips when they were apart, right after his smile and those crimson red eyes.

Maka was the one who pulled away, breathing hard after only a few moments of kissing. Soul seemed a little disappointed—usually, he was the one ending kisses, always proud about how she practically gave in every time their lips met. But not this time. "As much as I'd like to have a public fling, I've got some shopping to do Soul. Do you have a suit yet?"

Sighing in disappointment, resigned himself to just holding his girlfriend, replied, "Of course I do. You've been in my closet enough times to see that I have plenty of suits. But I bought a new one, since you decided that this was such a special occasion. I think you'll like it," He replied, leaving Maka pouting as she waited for more information. "I won't tell you exactly what it looks like, but I'll just give you a hint," He said, leaning down to put his mouth next to her ear. "One part is the color of your bra."

Maka squeaked as he pinched her on her ass, laughing as he did once she'd slapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, now you've got to get out so I can change Soul! Go and tell them how much you like it—but I'm not getting it, since you already saw it!"

Chuckling, Soul nodded as she headed to the dressing room, chuckling as he waited for her—only to be pushed out of the store entirely when the girls went to pay for their clothing. There was no way Liz was letting Soul see what they'd bought for his girlfriend; that was reserved for _the night_, as the girls had ended up dubbing it. But this also meant another thing: Soul was not allowed at the apartment until he went to pick up Maka for their date.

"Sorry Soul, but we are not risking letting you snoop through her stuff before the night; so her apartment is off limits for you for another day, at least," Blair had said, sticking her tongue out at the indignant albino who told her that she couldn't tell him what to do—until she held up a key. "Try getting past a locked door, Evans."

After that, the two groups went their separate ways, the girls still shopping while the guys were heading to Soul's place for a session of video games. Maka swore that every time she went to his apartment after their gaming sessions, he was almost completely out of almost everything necessary—including, Maka dryly commented on every time, toilet paper. Which was always necessary for any girl.

As soon as Soul and the guys left, Liz pulled Maka into a dress store, which mainly catered to the long, floor length formal dresses. Liz had told her the day plans had been arranged that the restaurant connected to the club for a formal, fancy schmancy place to dine. So, of course, there was a dress code, which mainly consisted of the fanciest clothing one could think of—which differed from the club's dress code of practically anything that didn't include nudity.

The shopping with the formal dress took forever, seeing as how Liz, Blair, Patti, and Tsubaki found fault with every dress she'd tried on since the beginning. There'd been the aqua colored gown that was tight around her chest and then flowed to the ground in beautiful waves that they'd thought had been too much. They even tried a white one that flared at the knees, but Liz expressed dislike almost immediately.

It was only when they reached a green that matched her eyes, with a ornate corset and a high slit on the right leg that almost reached her hip that they showed some interest. It hung a little loose at her chest, hugging to her curves before it flowed beautifully to the ground. Everyone liked how it looked—except for the careful Blair. "Hmmm…the color is too overwhelming. While it matches your eyes, you don't want to overwhelm him with color. Plus, it's a little much for a formal restaurant. Ma'am?" Blair said, looking for a saleswoman as Maka headed back into the dressing room to remove yet another dress. As she walked out, she noticed her friends at the cash register with a non-see-through dress bag.

"We decided on a dress and already got it—but it's a surprise!" Blair said, sticking out her tongue as she held onto the bag. "Next, we're getting you a clubbing dress and you are wearing it no matter what!" She ordered, causing Maka to groan at the possibilities; Blair's idea of a clubbing dress usually didn't reach mid thigh.

But when Maka thought of Soul's 'motivation' to dance, she knew that it would be the only way to entice him. So, with a sigh, she followed behind her friends. "Fine; but it has to be red!"

On the drive home, Maka was quick to tell Liz that she needed to stop at the corner store for a drink and a snack, since they'd skipped lunch and she hadn't eaten breakfast. Liz complied, letting Maka out to get what she needed. It hadn't taken long, Maka hiding what she needed in her purse when she came back with a coke and chips, most of which was shared around the car since Maka couldn't bring herself to eat.

As soon as she got home, Maka only stayed in the living room until the girls left, allowing her the alone time she needed to lock herself in the bathroom without fear of someone walking in.

When she walked out, Blair was waiting in the living room with a big mug of hot chocolate, which Maka longed to take a big sip of. But instead she just sat down next to the purple haired woman, curling up with her knees against her chest. "So, it's done."

Nodding, Blair kept on watching the TV screen with a little less interest. "And the results?"

Maka looked a little sheepish, looking down at her knees. "If you don't mind, I'd like to tell Soul first, if you were right or not," She said, knowing that her friend was dying to know. But this was something important, something that she had to tell her significant other first, before anyone else. Except, maybe, her mom—but with her being across the world, traveling with her new husband, that was not very likely.

"That's fine with me, but I want to know the moment you get back—or whenever you decide. It's not my place to order you."

At the end of the night, Maka found herself lying in bed, dreaming of pink and blue clouds in the sky.

The night came sooner than expected, arriving in the form of Liz, Tsubaki, and Patti barging into her and Blair's apartment, Ren not far behind. He'd gotten back the night before, very late, and had immediately come to Blair's apartment to say hello. Maka was just lucky that they hadn't 'celebrated' his return.

"I found them in the parking lot and thought that you were probably expecting them," Ren said, eying the large case that Maka knew carried beauty supplies and hair care products.

"Don't worry hun; they're with us to help Maka get ready for her date with Soul," Blair replied, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "While I love that you're back, I'm going to be helping her get ready too. Are your buddies in town or something to keep you company? We're gonna be a little while."

Ren nodded, giving a quick goodbye before he left—practically as soon as he'd arrived. "Okay, now starts mission help Maka get ready for her anniversary—which, by the way, most of the plans are already taken care of. We've got a bag at the club entrance ready for you, and there's a bathroom practically right next to it where you can change. And we'll be waiting to do your makeup before you walk out, so don't even try getting out of it," Liz threatened.

"Yeah! We're gonna make you all sexy Maka!" Patti yelled, once again causing the next door neighbor to bang on the wall to silence them. But this time, instead of just Blair, most of the girls in the room yelled in response. At that much of a reply, Maka would've been surprised if he had the nerve to even think about replying.

"Okay, so we're going to start with your hair and then your makeup, which will definitely make your eyes pop—not as much as clubbing makeup, but that's for a more edgy look. Which I think you're going for, am I right?" Liz asked, opening her makeup case and pulling out a curler, plugging it in and waiting for it to heat up. "We're going to put most of it up and then what's left of it I'll curl. And I'll just use a couple of bobby pins so you can just pull it down in the club."

"Sounds fine," Maka said, resigning herself to the fate of torture by hair styling.

But when they were finally finished and she was allowed to look, she found that it was breathtaking. It wasn't pulled back harshly, instead loosely arranged into an almost ponytail style, curls dusting the top of her shoulders. It showed off her high neck and her collarbones, something Maka didn't know could look so good. "Liz…this looks _great_."

Liz looked smug as she wound the wire around the curler, putting away her spare bobby pins. "I know. Now, time to put on your dress and your heels. Which, we also put a taller pair in your club kit, so you'd get a little bit of height. Otherwise, that's it."

Within the next hour they put the finishing touches of their piece of art, the petite blonde, Maka. But then it was time to leave and everyone besides Blair was filing out to head to their own places to get ready. Maka was ready to leave, waiting for Soul to arrive any minute. "Blair, are you heading to the club with Liz and them?" She asked, pulling on her black heels that were tame in comparison to what they usually made her wear.

Blair shrugged, going for the remote for the TV. "I don't know; there's an anime marathon on Adult Swim tonight and I was thinking of checking it out. I'd feel bad pulling Ren out for a date when he just got back from work. He's probably still tired; I'm surprised that he even came over today, since he usually collapses after a job," Blair explained, telling Maka what she already knew. "But I might just head over to the club to say hi or something. Or to check on you."

Giggling, Maka barely heard the knock on the front door. As she got up to answer, Blair gave her a quick thumbs up for luck. Maka only rolled her eyes as her hand reached the knob, turning and opening the door to reveal a fancy, formally dressed Soul Evans.

Maka heard his breath catch as hers did the same, taking in the black pinstriped suit with a dark red shirt underneath. His tie was black, somehow darker than the suit, and shiny black cufflinks at his wrists. "Soul…you look amazing," She said, in awe of the dark and handsome outfit.

At his chuckle, she looked up at Soul's eyes, finding that his white hair contrasted nicely with the dark suit, his crimson eyes alight with amusement. "Maka, between the two of us, you are definitely the better looking one," He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer to him. "I've never seen you dress up this nice for a date with me. But I guess it's because of a special occasion," He commented, pulling out a little velvet box that made her catch her gasp. "Don't get too far ahead; I'm not proposing quite yet," He said, opening the little box to reveal a pair of silver loops, diamonds in the shapes of teardrops hanging from them. They were small, yet perfect for her taste.

"Soul! They're beautiful!" She sighed, almost worried more about the fact that he'd said 'yet' instead of cutting off earlier. "I can't believe you bought me _diamonds_. Do you know what I would've done to get a pair of these a year or so ago?"

"I don't know; I'll go with killed for it," He joked, watching as she removed her smaller loops and putting on the new ones. "But come on before we lose our reservation—are you going to give me directions along the way? Since you decided not to tell me at all," He muttered, causing Maka to laugh as she saw his adorable pout.

"Well, I guess I can tell you now, since it's not the main event of the night. It's the fancy restaurant called Light, and we've got reservations there, courtesy of the owner dating Liz," Maka commented happily, holding in her laughs as Soul nearly choked on nothing. Maka guessed that he didn't like hearing about Liz's escapades when they were so much like siblings. "Yeah, my thoughts almost exactly. Except I don't care, since dinner is on the house because of it."

Soul snorted, amused. "It wouldn't really matter anyway, whether the owner was paying or not. I'd be able to pay for us anyway."

But Maka shrugged, indifferent. "But you can't pass up a free, fancy, five star meal when it's handed it to you on a literal silver platter. But if you really care, I'll tell them to let you pay for the entire meal. I doubt they're going to take offense."

Once their conversation was paused, they got into a car Maka recognized as Soul's special occasion car, which was mainly for when he went out with someone who didn't like bikes or Maka in a dress such as this one, which would've flown around in the wind. As soon as they got there, Soul got out and helped Maka out of the car, receiving a few stares from people passing by. But then they got in the restaurant, right in the middle of many people waiting for seats, and Maka felt Soul tense up next to her.

"Soul? Are you okay?" she asked, looking up to find him scowling at a group of men, their women only a couple of feet away. Each of them were staring her and Soul's direction, eyes filled with some resembling what she saw from Soul in bed. "Don't mind them; they're just a bunch of dumbasses," She murmured, feeling Soul's grip on her hand relax.

"Fine. But if they make one move…" He said, trailing off, an underlying threat obvious by the tone that Maka rarely heard. "Come on, before they decide to give away our table or something," Soul replied, now somewhat calm as he led her to the podium where people went to be seated.

"Name?" The waitress asked, eying Soul for a moment—making Maka give a little glare—before grabbing two menus.

"Maka Albarn, Elizabeth Thompson's friend. She said the owner reserved a table for us," Maka flatly replied, watching as the woman looked down at the paper and nodded. "Maka Albarn and Soul Evans, correct? Table for two and a full meal, courtesy of the boss. If you'd follow me, I'll escort you to your table," she said, Soul and Maka following behind the waitress who, even when Maka was wearing heals, towered over the ashy blonde. "Miss Albarn, Mister Evans, the owner has advised us to allow you whatever you would like to eat, and to tell you that it is on the house. Choose whatever you like," she said, flipping her shoulder length black hair behind her.

Soul nodded as he looked at the closed menu before him, not even looking as if he already knew what he wanted. Because of his family, Maka thought, he had most likely gone there more than once or twice. Meanwhile, Maka had to open the menu, scanning each small summary of each entrée so she could figure out what these fancy foods were made of. "How do you know what all of this is? I can barely comprehend it," Maka told Soul, who was looking for the waiter, waitress, whatever it was, probably for something to drink.

"You want me to help you decide on something? I know what practically everything on the menu is—try the spinach and artichoke. It comes with some fancy bread and you dip it. It's actually pretty good for being green," He said, pointing it out on the menu.

"So you have something about green, huh?" Maka asked with a gentle smile, watching as he shrugged indifferently. "I have to admit that spinach is actually pretty good. I just don't get it very much because diners and places like that don't usually serve it. So how about that for an appetizer?" She offered, getting a quick nod from an eager Soul.

Like a kid at a candy store, Soul immediately dug into the delicious appetizer, a piece of cheese hanging from his lip that Maka kindly wiped away. "I love the feel of your fingers on my skin," Soul murmured quietly in return, watching Maka's cheeks become dusted with a rosy red. And in the next moment, Maka felt his right foot sliding up her left, surprising her enough that her knee hit the table as she jumped.

"_Soul! _Footsy? _Really?_" She yell whispered, slowly cooling down as she saw him barely restraining himself from laughing. "Soul~ stop it! It wasn't funny!" Maka replied, her annoyed demeanor fading away as she began holding in her own laughter—until they looked at each other in complete seriousness, and their laughter finally erupted.

They could barely keep their composure as they ordered their entrees, the waitress from before rolling her eyes in annoyance at their joking. Or she was just jealous of good ole' happy Maka. "Would either of you like some wine to go along with your entrees?" She asked, Soul nodding as she handed him a list of wines. "Would you like to peruse the list also, Miss?"

Maka shrugged as she was handed a list, knowing that she wouldn't be able to. Alcohol was not good for her in this state. "I don't think I'll be drinking tonight," Maka told Soul as the waitress left, leaving to look at her other tables. When she noticed his curious stare, she looked up at him, just as curious. "What's wrong with that? Is it really that weird for me not to drink?"

He shrugged, picking at the last remnants of the spinach and artichoke that remained in the bowl. "Usually you end up drinking what I drink when we go to places like this. It's just strange that you aren't for once; you always seem interested in fine wine when I'm around," He said, sounding just a little suspicious to Maka's ears. But it was then that the waitress came back, taking their wine menus and getting them what they wanted—a nice red wine for Soul, another water for Maka.

After that, dinner was done rather slowly. It wasn't due to their lack of speed eating, but instead because they chose to talk more than half the time. By the time seven o' clock came around, they were getting the bill paid and still chattering on and on about numerous subjects. The one now had to do with Soul's hair. "You've got to be joking. You tried to _dye _your hair when you were twelve?" Maka asked, incredulous as she pictured her boyfriend with any kind of color besides white.

"Yeah, but it was a little stupid. I tried dying it this brownish black color that just didn't go with my eyes…or my skin…or my anything really. I was actually happy when my mom made me wash all of it out of my hair. That's one of the few things that I actually thank her for—and my music skills. If she never would have taught me how to play piano—or, at the least, gotten me a teacher—I never would've picked up such a hot girlfriend if I hadn't," He said, reaching to grab his glass which held one last sip of wine. Of course he had to down the very last bit of it, leaving none to waste.

"Yeah you would have—just would've taken a little bit longer to catch her," She replied, leaning over the table and meeting him halfway across the table in a small, chaste kiss. It was then that the waitress came back, asking if they wanted anything else. "Nah; we have plans and can't stay any longer. Actually, we better get going. If you wouldn't mind ma'am, could you point us to the entrance?" Maka asked, and the woman immediately pointed to a hallway next to the bathrooms.

"There's a room between the two buildings; it shares parts of the buildings, and they have your name on that list as well. They shouldn't give you a problem miss," she said, leaving them to head there on their own time.

"I think I should be running in the other direction," Soul commented as he stood up, putting his hand out for Maka to take as she stood up. "But, for your sake, I guess I can stick around," He joked, leading Maka towards the hall that the waitress had pointed out. "I can't help but wonder what you're trying to hide Maka. You don't usually go through all of this trouble just for me."

Maka shrugged as they finally reached the door, smiling appreciatively as Soul opened it for her. "You don't need to be that suspicious about it; I'm just trying to…_broaden your horizons_, so to speak." The light was pretty dim in the room in between the restaurant and club, making it a little harder to navigate. If it weren't for Soul's sure steps and his arm keeping her steady, Maka would have most likely stumbled on the heels that the girls had given her to wear. "And I'm proud of you for trusting me with this, by the way. I didn't think you'd make it this far before begging me for some kind of answer," She replied truthfully, looking up and into his crimson eyes. "It's refreshing."

It was only a few feet more when they reached the door, a bathroom next to it. At this, she turned to Soul, "I'd give your coat to the man at the door, or hold onto it. I'll be a few minutes in the bathroom; I need to get ready," She said, pushing him towards the bouncer. "I'll be right back. I'm just going…freshen up. So just wait here."

Soul, knowing nothing would stop her, shrugged and watched as she walked away—just as a particular blue haired idiot walked through the door behind the bouncer. "Blackstar? What the hell are you doing here?" Soul asked, eyeing him as he saw him tipping from one side to the other. "Are you drunk dumbass? I'm surprised Tsubaki isn't here to keep you in control."

The blue haired man turned to glare at him, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. "You're a jackass Soul. But I'm not allowed to hassle you or Maka. Tsubaki told me to wait for her to come out, after she helped Maka," He slurred, pointing a thumb in the direction of the bathroom Maka had just entered.

"What do you mean, helping Maka? She said she was just going in there to freshen up. And why are you guys here any…way…" He started only to trail off as he found his girlfriend of a year walking out of the bathroom she'd entered only moments ago.

It wasn't much, but it practically took Soul's breath away—more so than with the formal dress she'd been wearing for dinner. Her hair was let down, reaching her shoulder blades, barely dusting the top of the strapless dress. It was short, ending right below her ass and revealing her toned, mile long legs. And a couple of inches on the left side was a slit tied with black lace. And the best part?

It was the _color of his eyes_. They matched almost perfectly, the type of fabric giving it depth and shimmering nicely even when the lights were so dim. "Whoa…is that tiny tits?" Blackstar asked almost sleepily, the alcohol really getting to him as Soul elbowed him roughly in the side. "What? I know it's not just me realizing how…gifted she is. You are; even the bouncer realizes it."

Soul had to admit that Blackstar had a point. He did recognize the fact that her chest was twice as big as it usually was, and the fact that the bouncer was unflinchingly staring beneath her eyes. Why did dumbasses always have so much disregard for the other men and their girlfriends? "Whatever Blackstar. Just get the hell out of here before I decide to tell Maka that you were staring at her chest. And you know what she does when she gets pissed."

At that, Blackstar nodded, heading back through the door behind the bouncer. "Fine, fine. But have a great night—it'll probably be a little hard thinking about the two of you in there."

And with that the loudmouthed, blue haired man walked out of the room, a nod to the bouncer as he went.

He turned back to a smirking Maka—who, he found rather amusing, was still shorter than him in the highest heels she had ever worn—and took her hand before pulling her waist against him. "You look so hot in that outfit," He murmured close to her ear, leaving kisses along her chin. "What's the special occasion?"

"I…like I said—I'm broadening…your horizons. Stop Soul—it's not time for that!" She said, pulling out of his grip yet keeping a hold on his hand as she led him towards the big bouncer. "Maka and Soul," Maka told him, watching as he nodded and opened the door for her to lead down another hall, this one darker than the last. "Now, before you freak, I'm just bringing you here so you can loosen up. So keep an open mind, please?" She asked, just as they reached the end of the hall, flashing lights and music that was practically torture to Soul's ears.

She had brought him to a club. And not just any club; the most popular and hardest club to get into, Platinum. The club Soul had practically sworn never to go to. In his life. Ever. "And you thought I'd loosen up here _why?_" He asked, dragging his feet—his very expensive, Italian leather clad feet—as she tried to lead him to a round booth large enough to fit six or seven people. Right next to it was a tent with one open side that could be drawn closed for privacy.

"You're always listening to jazz, which you can only dance to one way; it's slow and quiet, sometimes a little fast. But let's face it: it's not the music for me. This is where I feel at home," She said, her walk turning into a slow saunter as Soul watched her hips move smoothly side to side, the most sensual thing he had ever seen. "I know it's not your speed baby, but it sure as hell is mine," She said, pushing him to sit down at their booth, following by sitting on his lap.

But Soul only shook his head. "Maka, babe, you know how I feel about…club music. It has nothing on jazz," He said, causing Maka to shake her head and get up, showing off her legs as she did.

"I think I'll make you think differently after you see me move," She murmured, just loud enough for her significant other to hear. "You haven't seen me dance quite yet. And while you might like me in bed, you don't know how I can move on the dancefloor." And with that, she slunk towards the crowd of people, immediately blending with the crowd as she began swaying and moving to the beat—feeling the sexual tension as it built from all of the people in the crowd. Because that was what techno music was made from; raw sexual tension. And she wanted to show it off for him.

It was then that someone slid up behind her, hands landing on her waist and slowly sliding further and further down until they reached mid thigh. She knew they weren't Soul's; they didn't feel as familiar as his were, didn't dance across her skin with feather light grazes. Instead, this man's grip was rough, pulling her against him to get what he wanted out of the dance.

Just as she was about to turn around and kick the guy to the curb, she felt his hands removed from her body and the disappearance of any body heat. And when she turned around, she found Soul's hands holding the man by his collar, their faces inches apart in a strange reenactment of a loving embrace. The man who had been groping Maka was frowning, looking as if he were about to cry from the threat Soul imposed. On the other hand, Soul looked absolutely pissed, probably only moments from knocking out the dark haired man if Maka hadn't interfered. "Soul, don't you dare get us kicked out—or else there will be no dessert afterwards. With jazz," Maka reluctantly added, almost smirking as she noticed his moment of indecision.

"Fine," He muttered, dropping the little ass right onto the floor. "But if he tries it again nothing is going to stop me from teaching him some manners," Soul replied, watching with a satisfied glare as the offender hastily made an escape. Then Soul looked at Maka, a look of 'I told you so' blazing as she shook her head.

"No, no, _no_. Don't you dare blame this on me. If you would've just gotten up and danced with me to begin with, there wouldn't have been a problem. _Now _are you going to dance with me, you stubborn albino?" Maka chastised before putting her hand out to him, wanting to pull him out onto the floor if only for a few minutes. "I promise, it won't be _that _bad."

With a reluctant smile, he took her hand and let himself be pulled into the fray.

Maka kept a secure hold on Soul's hand as she tried to get to a good spot in the crowd, enough room to maneuver yet small enough that she could feel everything around her. And then she started to dance, feeling Soul's eyes on her as she discreetly ran a hand down his arm, then down his chest. He'd thankfully taken off his jacket, meaning that it wouldn't get in the way of what she wanted to do.

Her hand went to his tie as she turned around, putting her ass right in his lap just like almost every other couple in there. With the hold on his tie she was able to keep him close. She only let go when she felt his hands on her waist, moving with her and asking of her what he wanted. Maka nearly swooned as she felt his hands wrap around her waist, his entire body moving against and with her. "The way you move," She heard him murmur at her ear, his breath sending delicious shivers down her spine. "I understand why that guy touched you like he did. But you're _mine_," He pronounced, nibbling her ear with enough gentleness to not draw blood.

But then the heat was gone and Maka couldn't help herself as she turned around to find him—only to fall into a trap as Soul caught Maka's lips with his. She grabbed his shirt, fisting and wrinkling the dark red material that matched her dress. She could feel his hands, going from her waist and trailing down to cup her ass in this little space of solitude that they had.

But then Maka felt another hand sneak up to cop a feel and she had to separate herself from Soul to get rid of the offender. "We're never going to get any privacy in this crowd," she grumbled, upset that their moment had been disrupted by some drunk pervert. But then she remembered the tent with the thick, non see through curtains and she began pulling him back towards their table. "Follow me."

Soul was a mixture of amused and curious as his girlfriend led him out of the thick crowd, the heat still pumping through his veins from their dance. From the look on his face, Maka could tell that he'd somewhat grown to appreciate her type of music—or at least the dancing.

Before he knew it they were standing next to their booth, in front of the still open tent that looked very welcoming at a time like this. And from Maka's smirk, she was thinking the same thing. "Close the curtains so no one disturbs us," She murmured, walking in and waiting for him at the edge of what looked very much like a king sized bed surrounded by a nice wooden platform.

Soul did as she said only to turn around and find Maka's lips assaulting his. They moved together, tongues fighting the other for dominance, which was easily achieved by Soul—the only one who could make Maka submit. The only one she let her guard down with. And it was then that he knew the answer to the question that had been annoying him for quite some time. "Do you want to move in with me?"

At this point they were laying down on the bed, Maka's dress half unzipped and the hem slowly getting higher while the top was falling a little lower. "Wait…what?" She asked, still in the heat of the moment and waiting for her mind to clear so she could actually figure out what the hell he had just said. "Can you…can you repeat that for me? I don't think I heard you right."

"Do. You. Want. To. Move. In. With. Me," He asked, pronouncing each word as if she were slow—which Maka could say was true and that it wasn't the first time it had happened, although she didn't admit it with pride. "After tonight, I know that I don't want anyone else. You're the only one for me. So move in with me."

For moments, Maka was speechless—also a little chilly, since the air seemed to be colder in the tent and her dress was practically a shirt—as she tried to figure out just what this meant. They could live together? As a couple? None of their friends had really taken their relationships that far, although Tsubaki and Blackstar seemed pretty close seeing as how Tsubaki usually ended up spending the night at Blackstars almost every other day—not always because they'd slept together the night before. Patti and Kid seemed to understand that they could, but Maka knew it was only because Kid didn't want to let Patti out in his perfectly symmetrical house quite yet.

And so it was that Maka was the first to get the offer. "Soul…what you're asking me…I wouldn't be able to afford the rent, at all. I barely have enough for me to half rent with Blair—and you've seen the difference in size and quality of our apartments. Plus, what about your personal space? Wouldn't I be in the middle of it?" She asked, unable to phrase nearly enough of her worries. "This is a big step and what if you regret it?"

For a minute, Maka closed her eyes, unable to bear it if he suddenly told her that he changed his mind because of her problems. But then she felt a gentle pair of lips on her cheek, her eyes slowly opening as she found Soul only a few inches away. "Maka, the only reason I'm asking is because I don't feel like I have to worry about that. The way you are when you stay at my house for days at a time…I don't _need_ to worry. I love you and I wouldn't care if you brought the place burning down—as long as you'd gotten out safe."

Again, she was speechless. The way he'd said it, with such honesty and raw emotion; it made her blush with the intensity. "Soul, that still doesn't count rent—which I'd split with you if I lived with you. It would only be fair."

Soul smiled, as if he already knew this was coming. "I own the apartment building; you wouldn't have to pay a thing. Plus, I'd have more than enough money to pay for the apartment; I'd been doing it for a year or two already. The money's a perk of the job," He said, once again referring to the job that Maka knew nothing about. And when she'd asked, he always pulled her off topic, not to mention the fact that his friends wouldn't give up any info either.

"Well…I have one condition if you want me to move in," She said, hoping that he wouldn't totally overreact at her term. "You…you have to tell me what you do for work."

This struck Soul with surprise, not knowing that Maka still thought about that particular subject. But he could understand why she might be worried; if he had as much money as he did but wouldn't tell anyone, it most likely wasn't legal. But, in his case, it very much was. "Maka, are you that interested in what I do for a living that you wouldn't move in with me if I didn't tell you about it?"

"Soul, for all I know you could be some drug dealer or Mafia boss—and you not telling me is just making me even more suspicious!" She said, almost trying to push herself away from him. But it was hard, his weight keeping her from totally escaping. "Why is it so hard to just tell me?"

At this Soul sighed, trapped. "Maka, I didn't want it to be about my job or my money, since this happens to bring a lot in. And I guess it was stupid, since you've seen how I live and you know that I've got money—but you don't understand how much I _own_," He said, looking up at her with light crimson eyes. "Maka, I'm the owner of a major record label, which mainly signs classical, jazz, and recently tapped into the rock genre. My company is worth millions and I'm one of a few people who run it—the rest being my closest friends, all of whom you know. Blackstar, Kid, Liz, sometimes Patti and Tsubaki, since they don't really get into it all that much. I was going to ask you if you wanted a position, but things got a little off track and—" Then he was cut off by Maka as she pulled him closer by his tie, their lips meeting with a passion.

"You don't know how happy it make me to hear you actually spill," Maka whispered, her forehead resting against his. "And yes, I'll move in with you—since you _finally _told me what you do for a living. Which, by the way, explains why you have all these CDs from that one label."

"Hmmm, does that mean I finally get dessert?" He asked, giving Maka a sharp toothed smirk as she smiled, nodding.

"I'll give you all the dessert you want," She said, leaning forward just a little bit to start kissing him once again, her fingers moving to untie his tie and unbutton his shirt. Maka could feel his hand, nice and warm, against her back as he went to unzip her dress. Then it was at her chest, pulling the dress down lower and lower until it revealed a lacy black bra.

Soul was only moments from removing it and sweetly ravaging her when the curtains opened and someone walked into, one woman on each arm. "Oops, well it seems like this one is taken."

Maka, like Soul thought she would, immediately sat up and pulled her dress up to cover her chest while at the same time trying to pull the hem down just a little more; it had been just high enough to reveal the side of a matching thong, something which Soul smirked with pleasure at. But then he was turning and about to tell the guy to get the hell out of there—when Maka beat him to it.

"Get the fu—Papa? What the hell? What are you doing here? I thought you were out of town on business!" She yelled, quickly moving to zip up her dress as high as she could, which wasn't very much.

"Maka? MY SWEET LITTLE MAKA! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! Wait…WHAT IS THAT PERVERTED BOY DOING TO MY LITTLE GIRL?" He yelled, trying to run towards them so that he might pull Soul off of his 'little girl'. But before he could get very far, he was hit in the head with a heeled shoe, the same that had been on Maka's feet since they'd gotten to the club. "_MAKA!~ _WHY ARE YOU HURTING PAPA?"

"Because you're being a disgusting asshole right now," She muttered, watching as Soul stood, reaching out to help her up too. "What are you doing here papa? You said you were working on the other side of the country for a few weeks."

"What?" He asked, the sound from the club drowning out the sound of her voice. He pointed at the far end of the room, where under further inspection had a door hidden behind it. He kept on motioning to it until Soul and Maka finally moved to open it. Maka's papa tried to follow him, both women he had next to him trying to follow. But Maka gave a firm no.

"I'm not talking to you with these two bimbos at your side. What, did you pick them up from school before you headed here?" She asked, the red haired man looking quite surprised by her outburst. The two 'bimbos', on the other hand, looked quite pissed. "My conditions or you don't get to hear what I have to say."

With a troubled sigh—Maka couldn't figure out why it was such a problem, seeing as he got this almost every day; missing one wouldn't hurt him—Spirit turned to the red head and blonde, looking sorry. "I don't like saying this, but you girls are going to have to leave. No one is more important than my little Maka," He said, trying his best to look happy as the two girls left with scowls and muttered curses.

Within the next few minutes the three of them entered the somewhat hidden room, Maka staring unhappily at her father. The harmless stare turned into an angry glare only a short moment later when he began getting worried about her outfit. "Maka, why are you wearing something so short? A lady like you should never wear something so revealing!" He fretted, taking off his sports coat to put around Maka, only to have it rejected.

Soul, seeing Maka shivering but trying to be stubborn, found his own jacket and put it around her shoulders. She turned around to give him a grateful smile before pulling it tighter around her. Soul noticed that his jacket was longer than her dress, reaching a few inches above her knee. With those heels on, he forgot how short she really was; she made his shirts look like dresses more than half the time.

"So…" Her father started, looking very suspicious of the two—Soul realized with glee that Maka had probably never told him about their dating yet. The way that she spoke of her dad, the infamous Spirit Albarn, she probably didn't wish to tell him to begin with. "What's going on here?"

Maka shrugged, not bothering to answer the question as she sat down upon one of two leather couches. Soul quickly sat beside her, allowing her to lean her back against his chest. "Why should I tell you anything? It's not like you extend to me the same courtesy."

His shoulders fell with disappointment, although Maka didn't know why. He'd been doing this to her for most of her life and it was only fair that he receive the same treatment. "Maka…I know I haven't done right by you with many things…but can I at least know the name of the boy who's dating my daughter?"

For once, Soul found Maka looking a little soft in front of someone who was not him. It was a nice, reassuring sight that reminded him that Maka wasn't completely hard to get through to. "Well, I guess you can at least know his name," She murmured quietly, looking up at Soul with lightened emerald eyes. "Papa, this is Soul. Soul, this is my papa, Spirit. We've been going out for a year," She said, Spirit looking at Soul with a critical, annoying eye.

"…Why did you choose an albino? You can never trust an albino. They're going to betray you," Spirit replied, causing Soul to stiffen with slight anger.

"That coming from the red headed man whore?" Soul asked putting his arm around the ashy blonde—who was starting to get very annoyed at their bickering, however short it had been so far.

"Who are you calling whore you little red eyed rat? I want to know what the hell your intentions are with my little girl, before I give you permission, if I give it at _all_. With your behavior now, I don't know if I'd ever give you permission," He exclaimed loudly, making Maka flinch from the volume in the otherwise quiet room. She hadn't noticed until his yelling how sound proofed this room was from the outside, not allowing any music from getting through.

Things went back and forth for a few minutes, each of them getting increasingly brutal with every word. "At least I care about her. What do you do for the people you sleep with—kick them out the moment you're done?"

"Why you little—you're probably just the same," He said, not noticing how Maka tensed at the words. It only got worse as her father went on carelessly. All Maka could hear were insults that not only had to do with Soul, but she somehow matched with herself. Rationally, she knew that this wasn't his intent, but things were all just catching up to her so fast. It was so disorienting, as if she couldn't control her emotions—not to mention her actions.

Which was why, in the next moment, she found herself blurting out the first thing to get them to stop fighting: "I'm pregnant!"

At that, all was silent and she could feel Soul, stiff against her. He'd froze at her outburst, practically copying her dad—besides the fact that it looked as if his soul were escaping him. For a moment, Maka was afraid that she'd given her dad a heart attack; but then he blinked and she knew he was fine. Or, at least, still living from the news.

Soul, on the other hand, recovered as soon as Maka turned her head to check on him. "We're gonna have a baby?" He asked, voice low and still with a tone of utter surprise. He couldn't seem to comprehend it, which Maka thought was understandable. She'd felt the same when she'd first found out only a day and a half ago.

Maka nodded, biting her lip from the suspense, wanting to hear what he thought of it. From the sound of it, he was still thinking about it—over thinking it from Maka's point of view. "Soul…are you okay with that?" She asked, calm and waiting. "I mean, if you're not, we don't have to—"

"I take back my offer from earlier," He said, and Maka knew what he was talking about with instant clarity. But with that clarity came feelings that she couldn't really stop; her eyes began to prickle, as if tears were about to fall and Maka knew that this was what everyone talked about when they spoke of pregnancy hormones. They were uncontrollable, something that _really _annoyed her. And then she felt them, falling at the outer corners of her eyes. "Oh, _shit!_ I didn't meant it like that—I really didn't. I meant that I wanted to ask you something else," He said, sliding off the couch before landing on one knee—at which point Maka felt herself stop breathing.

From his pocket he pulled out a little velvet box, one that was a different color from the one which had held her earrings. It was small and dark red, which seemed to be the unsaid color of the night, and opened it to reveal a small silver ring with a diamond nestled right in the middle, a pretty big one to Maka. She'd never seen its like, sparkling under the light. "I've had this ring for a while but I never knew when to ask you. And every time I got the guts to ask, something would come up or someone would disrupt us. But right now, I want to take back my last offer and ask you this: will you marry me, Maka Albarn?"

Her eyes left the ring and met Soul's, whose crimson eyes shined with love and passion, honesty and sincerity. And while Maka tried to go through so many scenarios in her head as to why this wouldn't work out, she couldn't find any. "Soul…yes. Yes, yes, a thousand times _yes_!" She replied, watching as Soul smiled that jagged toothed smile and took her left hand, sliding the ring onto her ring finger with ease, as if it belonged there. And she had to admit that she'd never felt better in her entire life.

Which was why, as soon as he stood up, Maka jumped and put her arms around his neck as, not for the first time that night, her lips met his with a passion.

And that was the exact moment that her father regained his composure and smiled—_smiled—_at his daughter. "At least I know you're doing right by here," He said, quiet enough that Maka and Soul weren't disturbed from their moment. He watched as Soul smiled and got excited over his soon to be child, taking a moment to crouch down and put a hand to Maka's stomach. Spirit Albarn actually missed those days, when he and Kami had been in love and awaiting the arrival of their little Maka. It had been a peaceful time—until he'd gone looking for other company and Kami stayed home with their baby.

It hadn't been much of a surprise when she'd left him, although he hadn't like it. At that point Maka had already been old enough to hate him and had showed it, a little at first until it got worse and worse. It hadn't helped that he'd kept on seeing other women, even when Maka wished her dad would just stay home and read a book with her like he'd done when she was smaller.

But this man before him, Soul, was nothing like himself. Which was why he didn't try to interrupt them, only slipping out as undetected as he could. And when he closed the door behind him, he smiled, knowing that their child would be plenty happy; never would he or she grow up with the problems that Maka had.

When Soul and Maka finally came out of their happy places, Maka noticed that there was no one else in the room now. Her dad had left them alone, something that she silently thanked him for. "So…I'd guess I'm still going to live with you now," She said, getting a chuckle out of a nodding Soul.

"Of course you are. I would never let my future wife and mother of my child live anywhere else but at my home, with me. Which, we'll have to find an actual home now. I don't want our child growing up in an apartment," Soul said, resting his forehead against hers and wrapping his arms around her waist. "With a big yard and a nursery, a huge living room where everyone can hang out."

"And a kitchen with an island, with good tile floors—but only in the kitchen and bathrooms. Otherwise, I want wooden floors with carpets on top. Especially in the living room, so we can let the baby play in there while you and the guys watch whatever game you want. And a training room, a study, and we can't forget a music room. I would never forgive you if you just got rid of all of those lovely instruments of yours," She purred, excited over the prospect of looking for a home—or making one if Soul got his way.

"When have you known me to get rid of any of my things? Plus, I don't think I could give away my piano—or that violin; I could never give away your violin," He said, making Maka smile in response. "Anyway, how about we get out of here and have that dessert you were promising me. We kept on getting interrupted."

Maka grinned, sliding off his coat and handing it back to him as she took his outstretched hand. "I am more than happy to give you some Soul. But you've gotta be careful; you don't want anything happening to your baby boy," She replied, one hand curled protectively around her abdomen. "We'll need to think of names you know."

Soul nodded, opening the door and leading Maka through the somewhat quieter club. Maka guessed that it was nearly closing time, which wouldn't have surprised her seeing as how much had happened so far. "Yeah, I guess we should. And do you really think it's a boy?"

Maka shrugged, watching her step as she found a man out cold on the club floor. "I'm really just guessing but I'm picturing a little baby boy with your hair and eyes and smile; he'll look just like you and will play music just like you. He won't be restricted to mainly one instrument like me," She said, nodding at the doorman as they walked outside, the cooler night air making Maka a little chilly, but not enough to ask for Soul's suit jacket. "And he'll be the best little boy in the world. He'll never make a girl cry, just like his daddy. He'll make a girl happy one day."

He chuckled as he pulled Maka closer, keeping her at least a little warmer. "I'm sure he will Maka. Now come on before it starts raining or something. I don't want anything to ruin tonight," He said, finding his car and opening the door for his fiancée before going around to the driver side, driving home in comfortable silence.


	4. DB Part III A New Home and a New Baby

A New Home and a New Baby

Maka couldn't help her tossing and turning. For all she tried to do, she couldn't get her brain to calm down enough to sleep. She couldn't help it; her nerves were way to wound and even the warmth radiating from the white haired body next to her was unable to lull her to sleep.

This was only a recent event and she knew that it could be from only one thing: the baby. She'd been to the doctor only a couple of days ago, finding out that the gender of her and Soul's baby was a secret only to them. The doctor knew, no surprise from the smile that had covered her lips during every moment of their appointment.

But when asked if they wanted to know, Maka had taken one look at Soul and back to her doctor before politely declining. "I think…we'll find out when he gets here," She'd replied, completely okay with waiting a little longer—only a few more months—before finding out the most important thing about their baby.

But Maka knew she was kidding herself if she thought she'd be able to wait. And she also knew that Soul would go to extreme measures to find out, only if she begged him not to. Which, in this instance, she was fully ready to do so. "Soul, as the mother of this child, _your _child, I am asking that you don't go asking the doctor about him," she'd asked one morning as she sipped at a chocolate milk and Soul nursing a hot coffee—she'd gotten over the aversion to the smell in the early weeks, thankfully.

"But Maka!~ Don't you want to know if you're calling it by the correct pronoun? I want to call him a him and actually know that it's a boy. Don't you feel the same way?" He had asked her, prompting her to stop and actually think about it for a moment. But her decision hadn't changed one bit, no matter how much she'd actually agreed with him. It didn't matter that she was dying to know on the inside; all she wanted was a little surprise on the day her little baby was born. And she wanted to keep on thinking it was a boy for a little while longer.

Which was why she was now lying awake in bed in the middle of the night, unable to get comfortable. And things didn't look like they'd be changing any time soon.

After a little while longer, she eased herself out of bed—easier said than done, seeing as she wasn't used to moving with this new belly of hers—and headed to the kitchen for some kind of snack. She checked her fiancée, watching his chest rise and fall for a few minutes, before she silently snuck out to eat.

When she got there, she realized exactly why she hadn't eaten much for dinner the night before: there was _nothing_ there. All of her and Soul's friends had been over earlier that afternoon and had cleaned them out, leaving practically crumbs left. Maka had even told Soul that they needed to go shopping for food if they didn't want to eat out for the next few nights. But that didn't help her situation _now_.

"What are you doing up in the middle of the night?" a voice suddenly sounded from the kitchen doorway, surprising Maka enough to make her jump in fright. But she only turned to find that Soul had actually woken up and was standing right outside the kitchen. "Didn't the doc say that you should be getting a lot of sleep for the baby?"

Maka shrugged, just wanting something to snack on. Or maybe it was just boredom hunger, the occasion becoming increasingly numerous the longer that Maka tried to relax for their baby's sake. "Next time everyone comes over, we are definitely making them bring their own food. They leave absolutely nothing for the pregnant one," Maka replied sourly, looking into the freezer for something and—"Ah ha! I found some! I knew we'd have some left; everyone's on a damn diet and would never think of eating my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream!"

Soul smiled as he found Maka trying to sit down next to the fridge, against the wooden cabinets. "You seem to be a little bigger lately," He commented, sitting down next to Maka and simply watching as she smiled from the taste of her treasured ice cream. "How far along did the doctor say you were when we went last time?"

Maka, with her spoon still in her mouth, narrowed her eyes at the white haired man beside her. "You were paying more attention to the ultrasound, weren't you?" She accused playfully, pointing her spoon at him. "But, if you really need to know, she said that it looks like I'm at my fifteenth week, which means I'm not that far along but it feels like I'm so _big_. I feel like I'm waddling around already."

Soul busted out laughing, putting his left arm around her shoulders as she tried to reassure her that she was not, in any way, waddling around the house. If he didn't know any better, she was able to walk around the house quieter than ever. "Maka, you're not big or fat or _waddling_, for christ's sakes. This is just what happens when you get pregnant," He murmured, snuggling a little bit closer as Maka tried to eat her troubles away.

"So now you're saying I'm fat?" Maka piped up playfully, laughing as Soul gave her an equally playful glare. "What? You're the one that said it!" She replied, moving out of the way just before his fingers moved to find her tickle spot. She barely managed to twist out of his grip, jumping to her feet as he soon followed. But then she found herself trapped on one side of the tiny island, Soul on the opposite.

"Maka, this is only going to end one way," Soul taunted, slowly stepping to his left, at which Maka stepped to her right. It was like a bit of a faceoff, Maka thought idly. There was no way that one could move without the other copying, which left Maka with a big decision: to run or not to run.

Either way, she knew that he would most likely win this battle. For all that she did to keep her body in shape, Soul did the same and then some. And with this belly that she tried to protect, it was going to be hard to outrun him, especially in such a small space. So she just darted away from the table, waiting for the arms to wrap around her waist and pull her back against his chest. As soon as he did, she let out a stream of giggles and felt his body shake as he chuckled.

As they were laughing and playing around, Maka couldn't feel better—at least, she couldn't feel better than this at three in the morning. But then she felt something drip down from her nose and Maka thought that her nose was running even though it was too warm for her to get a cold. She put a hand to her nose, feeling something warm drip onto her fingers. Pulling her fingers away, she noticed that it wasn't anything light or clear; instead, it was dark and contrasted against her fair skin.

"Maka, are you—" Soul started when he noticed her silence and immobility, only to be struck silent as he spied the dark coloring on her hand. He flipped on the nearby lamp and swore as he found out just what it was. "What the hell, Maka, your nose is bleeding," He said, moving to grab a towel from the nearby kitchen. When he returned, towel held in an outstretched hand, Maka gratefully took it and put it to her nose.

"I know this might look bad, but it looks worse than it really is Soul. It's just something that happens sometimes during pregnancy," She explained calmly, putting pressure on her nose to stop the bleeding. "It's nothing to worry about, as long as it doesn't keep on going for a while. So I'm fine for now."

Sighing, Soul looked pretty depressed; Maka could only guess that he felt bad about the fact that her nose had started bleeding shortly after they had started playing around. He usually ended up blaming himself for things he had no control over. "Yeah, fine. But I think that it's time for us to head to bed. You need to get some rest if you're going back to work tomorrow."

This time, it was Maka who sighed. "You'd think that they'd give the pregnant woman a break, but nope. Instead, let's make her come back to work as soon as her vacation is over so we can work her even harder. But, at least they gave me time off for our honeymoon," She murmured, sleep already trying to get her in its grasp. "I think I'd have to quit if they hadn't let me off for a week or two."

At this point, she was beginning to lean on a softly smiling Soul, stubbornly staying awake as she checked the towel for anymore blood. Thankfully, it was down to a drop, enough that she didn't need the towel any longer. "Maka, it's okay if you fall asleep on me. I can carry you to bed if you…" But Maka didn't hear anymore. She was already falling under, sleep embracing her like a long lost friend.

When she woke up Maka was quick to shower and get dressed in a cute leather pencil skirt and fluffy, button up white blouse, preparing a nice breakfast so she could make it until lunch. She'd be meeting Soul at noon at a little café close to her office at that point, since she was so used to enjoying some part of the day with her fiancée.

She left Soul sleeping in their bed, snoring and a little bit of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth as she gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. He barely even stirred, only enough to give her a quick kiss in return. Then she was leaving, locking the door behind her so no one would walk in while Soul was still asleep.

Maka got to the office pretty late for once, having been a bit sluggish when she'd woken up. But she'd managed to get up, barely managing to get in before she was late. Which she would not let happen, even in the worst of situations.

The first to greet her at work was Miss Marie, one of her elder coworkers who had first shown Maka around and helped her with the beginnings of her job. And she was also married to the man Maka practically considered a second father, a doctor Stein, which made her an almost mom. The only thing Maka thought strange about her was that she loved children to death; someone like her should've gone into teaching little kids or opening a daycare. She shouldn't have been working around miserable kids who had been abused. It depressed her so much that it depressed _Maka_.

"Well, well, well, we finally get to see your face again Maka," Marie started as Maka walked to her desk, following close behind with a huge smile on her face. "So…do you know what gender the baby is yet?" She asked, finally getting to the point as she pouted in Maka's direction.

"Well, if you must know, we haven't found out yet. Plus, I don't think we are. Finding out the gender, I mean. I want to keep it a surprise, just to keep us guessing for a little while longer. Where's the fun if you know everything beforehand," She said happily, sorting through all of the stuff on her desk as she placed them in their appropriate places. "Just know that ahead of time, so you don't ask me again. Because I'm not going to know anytime soon," Maka warned, picking up the top file to skim over it.

"But Maka, don't you want to know if you should be coloring the room blue or pink? I know I was when we had little Frankie a few years ago," Marie replied, referring to her and Stein's three year old little girl, with Marie's golden blonde hair and Stein's eyes, always smiling and laughing. "It was the greatest day of my life, figuring out that I had a daughter on the way. So you _need _to find out! I know you want to!"

After a while Maka just tuned her out, instead heading off to do her job, but the blonde haired woman wasn't far behind at any point of the day. The only time that she managed to get away from her was when Stein had gotten there and whisked her away for lunch, which Maka was set to do in half an hour.

So, with only half a file left, she signed out and headed out to meet her loved one for lunch.

It was finally the day, Maka mused quietly as she finally woke up from a nice, deep sleep. She felt Soul next to her, his body heat radiating off of him and onto her, enough that she pushed off every single cover to get some air from the fan.

With some difficulty Maka managed to roll onto her back, her stomach now a larger bump and getting in the way more and more; she could barely make it through the office without it knocking something down without a notice. "Soul," She whispered into the dark, barely a hint of light filtering through the curtains. No wonder why Soul was still asleep. "Come on baby; we need to get up so we can move everything to the new house!"

When he finally began to stir, Maka pushed herself out of bed, standing on shaky legs and steadying herself with a hand on the mattress. "Get up before everyone gets here, Soul!" Maka nearly yelled, trying to wake up her unsresponding fiancée.

Within moments Maka was out of the bedroom and in the bathroom, getting ready for a shower when she felt warm hands land on either side of her waist, raising her shirt up little by little until it exposed her entire tummy. "You know what I realized a few minutes ago?" Soul's voice whispered into her ear, his warm breath sending delightful shivers down her spine. "I haven't touched you in weeks—since the night you told me you were pregnant," He said matter of factly. Maka could barely keep herself from turning around and finishing what he started. But she knew they couldn't. Their friends were going to be there in only an hour or two and they still had to gather up all of their boxes that were headed to the house. "I think it's about time to make up for it. Don't you think so?"

His lips went from her ear down to her throat, leaving a trail of fiery kisses behind as he reached her clothed shoulder. Then he was pushing her clothes aside, his lips doing amazing things—and then there was a knock on the front door, a clear warning. "Dammit," Soul muttered, letting his forehead droop and rest on Maka's now bare shoulder. She felt him, breathing hard along with her as they crashed from their high as they realized just who was at the door.

"Okay…I should probably shower…_before _Liz comes running inside to check on us. You know…she doesn't mind…walking in on us," Maka replied, breathless as she pulled her shirt collar back up to where it was supposed to be. Then she was pushing Soul away, towards the bathroom door. "Go and tell them that I'll be out shortly. But don't antagonize poor Liz; I doubt she wants to hear about our escapades again. Didn't you tell me on our first date that she's like your sister?"

Soul sighed in defeat, one hand on the door knob. "She is. Which is why it's funnier to tell her about this kind of stuff. It ticks her off and she's grossed out by it. What's not to like?" He replied with a smirk, only escaping as Maka went to give him a playful punch on the shoulder.

Finally left alone, Maka stripped down and showered, enjoying the feel of the scalding heat on her cold skin. It soothed her muscles and relaxed her aches, mostly her back and neck. She quickly washed her ashy blonde hair, noticing that it nearly reached her waist. She'd didn't mind it, she noticed idly, as long as it didn't become a problem to tame. "But it hasn't bothered me for a while now, I guess."

"Maka! We're all ready to leave!" Blair's voice rang throughout the house, loud and clear as Maka reached for the faucet, turning off the water before grabbing a towel to dry off with. "You have ten minutes! Then we're leaving," Blair yelled her warning, although Maka was only moments from getting out.

She pulled on jeans and a nice shirt, ankle socks and her favorite pair of shoes. When she walked out, she went straight to the living room to find all of her friends gathered around the room. "Well, I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. So come on guys and start picking up boxes and bringing them to the truck—no time to waste."

With a couple of laughs, everyone grabbed a box while Maka supervised, unable to help lift anything because of her current condition. They barely stopped when everything was packed, only long enough to get a drink from a cheery Maka.

She'd brought out lemonade, something that had never happened before she'd gotten pregnant. "You already seem like a mom," Blackstar had said carefully, not wanting to inflict the rage of a hormonal woman. "Before you got pregnant…I think none of us thought you'd be serving us _lemonade_ after working."

Everyone agreed with him, watching Maka smile gently as she placed a hand softly on her extended belly. She could feel their eyes on her and could swear she could sense Soul as he began walking in her direction. "Well, I guess I'd have to say that I feel like a mom already. And I feel like I already have a family—especially with the new house that Soul had built and all of you always helping us out. Our family is practically here already."

Soul wrapped his arms around Maka as soon as he reached her, feeling as if they were the only ones in the room. He was barely able to restrain himself, only pulling away when he realized that everyone was watching the two of them. "Well, I agree with her; so, family, time to get to work again. Come on Liz. Lift with your knees!" He said laughingly, getting a glare from the older blonde as she stuck the bird in his direction. But it bounced off of him completely as he chuckled, letting go of his almost wife as he began lifting boxes and moving them into the cars.

Maka watched them for most of the morning, just piling boxes into cars in preparation for their move. They weren't taking the furniture or anything big. Soul had the entire house furnished and made sure that they didn't need to bring anything over from the old apartment, meaning that furniture wasn't even needed. Mostly, they were just bringing pictures and little things that they didn't want to leave behind. Appliances and technology, stuff like that.

It was a couple of hours after their drinks that Maka finally told them that they were okay to leave. Everything had been collected and packaged, meaning that Maka could finally see the house—like she'd been dying to for the past few weeks ever since Soul had told her that the building stage was done. "Soul, can you at least tell me where the house is? Like what neighborhood or something?"

But Soul kept on avoiding her questions, even when they got into the car and he started driving. He just kept on humming and tapping on the steering wheel, ignoring her if she asked a question about the house. Otherwise he talked to her, sometimes commenting on their baby and other times saying that she'd love the place that he'd had built.

When they got to a farther out area from the city, Maka looked to Soul for some explanation as to why they were slowing down suddenly. But when she saw the blindfold, Maka knew exactly why—and responded accordingly. "Soul, really? You're _blindfolding _me? I think you can at least let me see where we're headed from here," She replied dryly, keeping his hand at bay while pushing herself farther into her seat and away from him. "I swear to god that if you put that blindfold on me you will be sleeping on the couch for a month, Soul!"

But it didn't help her case, seeing as how in the next minute he was able to slip it around her head and tie it securely so it wouldn't slip. She had no choice but to listen to him, waiting—albeit, impatiently—to get to the house and take it off, when she was allowed to actually see.

It took another five bickering filled minutes before they finally turned and stopped did she feel his hands on her shoulders, pushing her a little closer to the door. "You can get out but I want you to keep the blindfold on. I'll lead you to the front so you can see the whole thing," Soul said, voice getting quieter as he got out of the car, which Maka remembered she needed to trade in for a safer ride for a child.

As soon as she was steady on solid ground, she felt his hands land on her shoulders and lead her on soft, grassy ground. Before they could get too far he stopped her, turning her slightly. She felt his fingers on the ends of the blindfold, ready to pull it away—but not without a few words. "Okay, so you remember how I told you that I was going to stick to your outline of the house? Well, I _might _have made a few changes, such as where a couple of the rooms went or an extra room or two. But nothing big," He replied, warmth radiating from his nearby hands.

"That's perfectly fine Soul, I just want to see the damn house!" She almost yelled in impatience before she heard a chuckle and the gentle feel of fabric against her cheek as light flooded her vision. And the vision of a house appeared before her, greater than she could ever imagine.

Where the truck sat was a large cement driveway with enough room to fit six or seven cars in rows of two. That wasn't even counting the large garage that opened on the side of the house. The house itself was at least three stories, although the top seemed to only be made of one large room, maybe another small room inside. She saw two balconies, one on the second and one on the third, half covering the second floor balcony.

The outside walls were a light tan, and the window trim along with the door were off white and matched perfectly. Maka noticed that there was a garden in the front yard, with roses and lilies, tulips and orchids and everything she could imagine. They had vines crawling up a corner of the front wall, some rose buds growing and waiting to blossom. Maka even thought she saw some tulips in there, although it might have just been her imagination.

"Soul," She breathlessly said, the scene before her leaving her speechless. "When I thought of a new house for us and the baby…I didn't think it would be this _big_," She told him, eyeing every single inch of the building before her with awe. "If the front yard is this big, I can't even imagine how big the backyard will be. And the driveway? It's big enough to play an NBA game on! I can't help but wonder if you did that on purpose or if you just planned on having a lot of cars in the future," She playfully accused, eyes narrowed to slits until Soul wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Well, I thought I should offer you a little indulgence with the house, at least. And we _did _say that we wanted a big yard when I started, so I made sure of it. The driveway was just another indulgence, just for me instead of you," He replied, a rather happy tone that Maka knew was because he'd gotten what he'd wanted. "But come on, before they try and ruin the surprise for you—the girls practically designed all of the inside besides the things you specifically asked for."

At that she immediately began feeling as if she were about to explode, her nerves the getting the better of her; thankfully, these were the good kind. "Come on Soul! I just want to see the inside before I die from waiting for so long!" She replied, smiling as she felt his feet shuffling and pushing her closer towards the front door.

"If you won't mind, I'd like to carry my almost wife across the threshold of our new house—if you'd allow it, of course," Soul smugly said before opening the door to reveal a light, open living room. But, before she could even begin to revel at the beauty, she was literally swept off her feet and into the strong of arms of her loving albino. "So—how do you like it? You can thank Liz and Tsubaki for most of the style; I never would've been able to get this place looking like it does now if I'd been the only one working on this."

Maka had to agree with him when she was just looking at it. Just like she would have done, the walls were painted an off white with dark brown trim, the furniture made of dark brown leather and white stitching. On the opposite side of the room from the furniture was a large, flat screen TV mounted on the wall that was all Soul's idea if anyone's. Close to the longest couch was a dark brown wood table with a glass top.

To the left of the front door was a wall and then a breakfast bar with four tall bar chairs. On the other side was a stove with counters on either side. The stove was brand new, along with the fridge and all other appliances, giving off a nice shine. All of the counters were dark brown wood with white marble tops, absolutely stunning to the awestruck Maka. "Soul…this is perfect. Just…perfect. Oh," She suddenly exclaimed, a hand flying to her stomach as a smile graced her lips. "Soul, I think the baby likes this place too."

Tentatively, as if scared that he would move away, Maka grabbed his hand and placed it on her tummy, right where she'd felt it. For moments Soul looked questionable, unable to feel anything. But then he felt the little fist or foot against his palm and through the fabric and a giant smile broke out on his face. "That's…that's our baby?" He asked her quietly, feeling as if he and Maka and their baby were the only ones in the world at that moment—even when their friends walked in on the beautiful scene.

The seven others—Kid, Liz, Patti, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Blair, and Ren—watched without constraint, smiling at each other as they realized just what was happening.

After years of being considered kids, Soul and Maka could no longer be included in that category. They were growing up and getting married, starting a family at twenty-two and twenty-four while Liz and Patti had yet to move out of Kid's house or get steady jobs. Kid still freaked out like a little child when shown anything unsymmetrical while Blackstar always played around with being god, always calmed down by the quiet Tsubaki. Even Blair had her childish moments, but they had started to decline around the time she'd first dated Ren, one of the most mature of their group.

And now the 'adults' of the group would be busy with a new baby, hardly enough time to visit them. Which was why it was a bittersweet moment when Liz gave a gentle smile and cleared her throat, catching the attention of the two lovers. "So…when do we get to see the nursery?"

Maka's eyes brightened at the reminder, clutching Soul's hands with excitement. "Yeah, when do we get to see the nursery? I don't think I can wait any longer Soul!" Maka replied happily, letting go of one of Soul's hands as he began walking in the direction of the hallway.

"Well, this is the downstairs bathroom and that's a guest bedroom next to the stairs. The room on the left is a surprise that I'll show you later; upstairs is our bedroom and the master bathroom," He said, motioning to the door at the end of the second story hall way. "On the right is a study with a ton of books and a couple of desks for working, another bathroom, and another bedroom on the left. And there's one more floor, then we're done. I think you'll like it," Soul said as he began walking up the stairs, two at a time, before they came to a door that was perfectly white. "Welcome to our baby's nursery," He practically whispered, opening the door wide to reveal the off white walls and light colored furniture.

As soon as Maka walked in she was done for, gazing upon the softly colored room with adoration. The off white, almost yellow walls were soft on the eyes and the very light tan furniture wasn't bad either. The crib sat in a corner of the room, opposite the large window that lit the room without the use of lights. The changing table was to the left of it on the adjacent wall, a white lamp with a light yellow shade set next to it. In front of the large windows was a large, soft white seat with a matching footrest and another lamp sitting behind it.

But the thing that caught her attention the most was not the designer furniture or the large windows. What caught her was the ceiling.

With light shades, the ceiling was painted like the sky with blues and whites, perfectly fluffy clouds placed at random, but beautiful nonetheless. "This is far beyond what I imagined, but I think it's perfect, Soul," Maka told him, a hand to her mouth as she gazed upon the amazing art on the ceiling. "Looking at this entire house, I understand why it took so long. But what I don't understand is why it took such little time to finish," She commented, albeit smiling, as she took hold of Soul's outstretched and waiting hand.

"Well, whenever you have as much money as I—_we_—do, people tend to do things faster if you ask them to. Especially when extra money is involved," Soul replied smugly, giving her smaller hand a bit of a squeeze as she let go to investigate the large seat near the window. It looked perfect with the fading sun in the background. "There's a bathroom connected and the balcony is going to be locked and double locked until we think we can trust him not to jump off the roof. Or sneak out. Either way, we're going to be the only ones with keys," He said, hand opened and outstretched to reveal a small silver key.

After a few minutes of everyone fawning over the room, everyone filed out to go home, leaving the new couple alone—even after Maka insisted that they didn't have to. But they left anyway, telling her that they had things to do anyway, that they should have time to appreciate their new home by themselves.

It was when Maka had finally gotten Soul to lay down on the couch with her that, after only a few minutes of relaxation, he'd immediately sat up as he remembered something. "Soul~ I'm tired! Why can't we just rest for a few minutes? We have the rest of our lives to see the house."

At that Soul chuckled, pulling his wife up—almost gasping with the effort; he hadn't realized just how big she'd gotten. "Yeah, that's true, but I thought you'd want to see this room the most. I know you loved the music room so much in the apartment that I just thought—" He said only to be cut off by her wide smile. "Just what I thought your reaction would be. Now come on before the sun is completely gone."

She got up at that point, following him down the hall and to the door he'd ignored not long before. But now he stopped in front of it and she noticed that on the table between that door and the one next to it was a wooden music note, a nail, and a hammer. Maka watched as he picked up the music note and place the nail against the top, readying the hammer before hammering the nail through the note and right into the door. "I remembered how much you like the room so I tried not to change it too much but I added some things that I thought you might like."

And that was when he opened the door and Maka walked into a dream.

Just like she'd pictured it, a baby grand piano with yellowing ivory and perfect black keys. All of the old instruments were arranged in some kind of organized chaos that Maka couldn't help but appreciate. It reminded herself of the old apartment where everything had a spot where it could find a clear space. But there was one instrument other than Soul's piano that had its own space.

Right next to Soul's piano was 'her' violin, perfectly shined and the bow resting next to it. Maka watched it with awe, knowing that it had never seen a better day than that one. And it was hardly a few steps away that she noticed the seating arrangements, an even larger bay window that was big enough for three or four people to sit. When she checked the inside, it had one big blanket inside and some wires, which piqued Maka's curiosity. "Soul…what are these wires for?" She asked, looking up to find him smiling, jagged teeth and all.

"I was thinking about how good you were the night we met, making up songs of your own…I wanted someplace where we could record. So, if you look inside the cabinets there's a pull out sound board among other things. Top and bottom cabinets contain speakers for listening to the recordings afterwards. And the wires are for any that come up missing or something. Precautions for our future job," He said, completely stunning Maka speechless. "Of course it's not going to just be you. It's going to be a group of _me _and _you_. Violin, piano, anything else we want to add in, you name it. But with my position at a record label I can sign you or one of our friends can—god knows how much they love hearing us play. So, what do you think?"

Maka could barely comprehend what he was telling her. Signing with the record label? Was he _crazy_? She was barely able to play for their friends much less perform knowing that lots and lots of people would be listening to it. "Soul…I'm not that good at playing plus not a lot of people listen to classical. It wouldn't be much of a career," She tried to explain but Soul was too excited to be talked down.

"Maka, that's what your voice and a sound board is for. It gives it an edge that doesn't happen with regular playing. And don't doubt it; your voice is beautiful. I've heard you singing in the shower and around the house. You're _good_. Don't deny it," He told her, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth from the compliments, although she didn't know if his opinion was biased or not. He was her almost husband; he kind of had to tell her stuff like that.

"Well…you have to promise me something first…" Maka said, trying to hide a smile as she watches Soul's bloom across his entire face. She even watches as his eyes brighten and he goes to put his arms around her, a space between them from her stomach sticking out so far. "If it's a boy, I want the final say on his name. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Can you agree to that?" She asked him, her knee moving up and up slowly, sensually, until she hears him moan.

That's when his hands went lower and lower until they reached her butt, his nose buried in the crook of her neck. "I haven't touched you in months, you know that right? Do you think we can change that tonight?" He asked, voice getting huskier and rougher, sending chills down Maka's spine.

"I don't know Soul. I'm just _so tired_; I don't know if I can stay up for too much longer. But if you want to try…"

It wasn't much longer until they were upstairs and in bed, breaking in the new house with vigor.

It was a week later when Maka had been making lunch that three guys entered the house, all sweating and most of them without shirts because of the heat. "How was the game?" She asked happily, putting a plate of sandwiches on the breakfast bar that they immediately grabbed and began scarfing down. "It looks like it was fun."

But Soul didn't utter a word, instead getting himself a cup of lemonade and gulping it down, ignoring what anyone said to him. "Just ignore him Maka; he's just pissed cause Kid beat him in a basketball match," Blackstar said annoyingly, getting the evil eye sent in his direction from Soul who, from what Maka could see, was very upset about it.

"I'm not pissed that Kid beat me. I'm pissed because you don't know how to call a game to save your life dumbass!"

It was at that point that Maka walked through the kitchen and gave both of the guys a look that, if possible, could kill. "If the two of you would just grow up for a few minutes and eat I would be a very happy pregnant woman. Now sit down, shut up, and eat," She ordered tersely, watching with some satisfaction as they listened immediately. "Well, Kid, since you're the only one being an adult right now, anything new happening lately?"

Kid shrugged as he happily ate the food before him. "Liz seems to be ready to move out on her own and Patti is freaking out a little bit. They've never really lived apart before and she doesn't know how to act. But I'm kind of happy; I love Liz but Patti is my girlfriend. Sometimes it needs to just be us, you know?" At which Maka nodded, knowing all too well that she'd needed alone time when she'd lived with Blair. "Anyway, the girls and I have been wondering what names you've picked out for the baby. They kept on pestering me to ask before I left and I totally forgot before the game."

"Yeah, Tsubaki was telling me to ask too," Blackstar intervened loudly, his voice causing Maka to flinch from the volume. "Any names picked out for the little brat?"

It was at that point that Soul cuffed his blue haired friend over the head, getting a well deserved cry of pain. "Don't call our kid a brat. Only we can call him that," He said, smirking as he finds his wife scowling. "Okay, only Maka can call him that. Or whatever other name she chooses. But, anyway, I don't think we've come up with any names yet. Or, at least, none that I've heard about yet. Maka, you thought of any?"

Finally brought down from her anger at her fiance's childish attitude she found herself surprised by the question. "You guys do know that we have months before he or she actually gets here, right? Plus, how am I supposed to choose a name if I've never met the kid? I have some choices but I'm definitely not sure yet," She said, scrubbing down the counter. "Plus, I have time."

She would never know that in a few weeks she would be very, very wrong.

It was a bright, early morning that Maka woke up to the unfamiliar sight of Liz, Patti, Blair, and Tsubaki standing over her with smiles on their faces. Even the room was unfamiliar and it took her a moment before she realized just what that day was. "I'm getting married today."

They all smiled down at the soon to be bride as she sat up and pushed herself out of bed, glowing and all smiles as she kept on coming to the same realization. "You guys…I really can't believe I'm getting married," She said, following her friends to the nearby bathroom that was connected to the second story room. "Liz, Patti, I forgot to tell Kid thank you for letting us have the ceremony and reception here. Could you tell him that later, for me?" She asked, completely disoriented by the awe of the day.

"You don't need to be thanking anyone. It's your day Maka and only you matter. Even Kid with his OCDness doesn't matter. Just relax while we start fixing you up for the ceremony, kay?" Blair said sweetly, brushing through her dear friend's ashy blonde locks with care.

It took a very little part of the day to fix Maka's hair and makeup, pinning back her ashy blonde hair and letting it flow down her back until it nearly reached her waist. Her makeup was soft yet made her emerald eyes pop. They helped her shimmy into her dress, carefully tugging it up and around her tummy before tying it behind her back. It revealed most of her slender back, hugging the curves she wanted to show off.

"Only a few more minutes and you're going to be an Evans. How does it feel?" Blair asked with a smile, putting the veil in place, the comb hidden in the pieces of hair pulled back. "Tell me what I should expect when my wedding day comes."

That's when she smiled, trying to think of words to just describe what she was feeling. "It's…it's just so _much_. One day we're dating and the next I'm engaged and pregnant. And now…now I'm getting married to a guy that I love so much…I think I'd die if something happened to him. And my hormones are getting the best of me and I feel like I'm about to cry every goddamn minute that I sit here—happy tears, but I really don't want to cry. All of this work would be for nothing if I cried and let my eyeliner and mascara run."

She heard her friends giggle as they finally put the finishing touches on her. A little dab of makeup here, pulling her hair a little tighter there. And before she knew it, Maka was being told to stand and hold onto her little white bouquet as she was ushered out of the little door that led to a hallway. And down that hallway, Maka knew, was a staircase that would go down and there she would start her march to her fiancé.

At the door stood her dad, beaming at her, nothing but smiles for his daughter. "Maka, you look beautiful. I can't believe I have to give you away to that little dumba—" He began, only to be interrupted as one of the girls cleared their throats. It only took a glare from Liz before he replied, "Well, I'm happy to know that you'll be…okay and…stable with him. But that's the only compliment for him that you're gonna get out of me so don't try getting another one."

Only moments later music could be heard coming from downstairs, the soft melody of piano that sounded hauntingly familiar. Maka thought it sounded like Soul's playing but she had never heard him play something so soft and sweet. It wasn't his style yet…it sounded just like him. He must've recorded it, Maka thought idly to herself as she watched first Liz, then Patti, walk down the stairs with grace that scared her for a moment.

"Papa…make sure I don't fall, please?" She burst out suddenly, her nerves getting the best of her as her dad simply chuckled. The sound helped her to relax just the tiniest bit, her hands unclenching around her bouquet and on his arm, a thankful relief.

"I would never let you fall Maka. Now, I think it's your turn to walk. Shall we?" And so they did.

The moment they reached the top of the stairs Maka heard the sweet sound of the bridal march reached her ears. But that wasn't what Maka was worried most about; it was the fact that, as soon as she'd reached the top step, everyone had turned to stare in her direction. From her hair to the very bottom hem of her dress, she was being scrutinized and watched, leaving her a tad self conscious. But then she saw him.

While everyone watched as she moved, silently praying that she didn't fall, Maka didn't see any of that worry in him. Instead all she saw were his crimson red eyes staring steadily into hers. She saw pride more than anything else, overshadowing any fears he might have had. Which was why the bride let all of her own fears just wash away, instead taking some of Soul's pride and courage and using it to her own advantage. She felt her steps get steadier and it was only her father's arm that kept her from running down the aisle to meet him at the end.

When she finally reached him she nearly let her tears—tears of joy—fall as her father kissed her on the cheek and put her hand in Soul's, a universal sign as old as time that meant Spirit was finally giving away his daughter. But not without a few select words. "Evans if you ever, and I mean ever, hurt my baby girl I will personally hunt you down and remove every organ you have, _by hand_. Do you hear me?" He whispered, harsh in the almost quiet of the mansion.

At this Soul just smiled at looked at Spirit with something that Maka could only describe as coming to an agreement, maybe even understanding. "Sir, if I ever hurt your daughter I'll be sure to find you just so you can go through with it. Intentionally or not, I would never in my wildest dreams try to hurt her."

It astounded her, Maka realized, how much her love for this man could grow with just a few words. Which was why she took his chin and pulled him closer, planting a kiss right on his lips. But it lasted only a moment before they walked up to the front, the priest happy to finally begin. But Maka could barely hear what he was saying, only speaking when it came to her vows or saying 'I do', when her tears started flowing freely down her cheeks. She noticed that Soul was close behind, his eyes shining a brighter red than normal.

It reminded her of one of her parents' friends' weddings that she'd been invited to. She'd asked her mom why they were crying and her mom had promptly replied, tears in her own eyes, that they weren't crying because they were sad. Instead, they were crying because they were happy, tears of joy she'd been told. She remembered how confused she'd been, saying that she'd never cried when she'd been happy. But her momma had only laughed and pulled her into her lap, where she'd fallen asleep before waking up at the reception.

Only now did Maka realize how right her momma was. Her tears were flowing freely but it was from pure joy, so happy that this was happening that she couldn't control her reactions. Add in the pregnancy hormones and she was practically bawling as Soul barely let any tears leak. She felt happy yet embarrassed at the same time, but she couldn't bring herself to care about the embarrassment.

It was only moments later that the priest finally finished with the formalities and pushed them towards the crowd, announcing the newlywed couple with a booming yell. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!" And for the first time in a day and a half Soul pulled Maka close and kissed her, really _kissed _her, as if they were in the privacy of their own home and not in front of tons of their closest friends.

"I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans!" The priest boomed for the last time as Maka and Soul kept on kissing , believing that just for a moment they were in their own little world. The cat calls were what pulled the two out of it, both of them flushed from the effort as they finally turned and smiled at the crowd, an arm placed securely around Maka's waist.

Everyone flooded the middle of the room, trying to give them their regards and congratulations for the occasion. They shook hands and hugged numerous people, some of which one or the other, sometimes neither of them, knew. More often than not they put a hand to her tummy and wished them luck, asking when the baby shower would be. Neither would be able to reply before they were whisked off to the next group of people ready to congratulate them.

It went on like this for several minutes until Liz and Patti finally opened up the back doors that led to the backyard, closed in by a circle of trees. The darkening sky was beautiful in contrast to the lights strung up in the trees. There was a wooden floor in the middle and tables arranged around it with beautiful flowers place in the middle of each. The table on the far end of the floor was for the wedding party and Maka could see just who had decorated it.

Everyone was seated when they newlyweds walked in, instantly standing up and applauding as they passed and stopped in the middle of the dance floor. The first song came on and everyone watched as they began swaying gently from side to side.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you cry," Maka whispered as she rested her entire body against him, suddenly exhausted from the day's events. "I don't think _I've_ ever cried as much as I did today. And that was me being _happy_. I feel sorry for the future you when I get pissed."

He chuckled. "You shouldn't feel sorry. It's usually well deserved anger when you get mad. But as long as you don't ever use a book on me ever again I will be a very happy man," Soul replied, lifting his head to find other people joining them on the floor. "I think our song is over. You wanna go sit or do you want to keep on dancing?

Maka shook her head, pulling herself closer to him. "Nuh-uh. I wanna stay here, dancing with you, until I'm exhausted—which, I'll admit, I am. But I'm staying on the dance floor if it's the last thing I do. So stay here with me, please?" Almost begging, Soul couldn't resist her pleas. So he kept on dancing with her, calmly, slowly moving from side to side. "What would you think of naming our baby after you, Soul?"

That startled Soul enough that he nearly jumped out of his shoes. "Why…why would you want to name him after me?"

"Because," Maka began, giving a yawn that Soul couldn't classify as anything but adorable. "I love you and I love your name and I want him to be just like you when he grows up. Musically talented and such a great guy that he'll marry a girl who never thought she'd meet the perfect guy in a hundred years," She said , giving another yawn that made Soul look at her with a little bit of worry.

Soul gradually guided his new wife towards their seats, worried about how tired she was. "Maka, you need to sit down for a few minutes. You're exhausted and it's not good for you or the baby if you try forcing yourself. Just sit down for a couple of minutes," He instructed, a gentle smile as he found her scowling.

"I'm not fragile god dammit. I just want to dance with my husband before we have to leave. And if you don't let me dance with you I'm with holding sex until the end of the honeymoon. And don't test me," She tersely replied, resting her head in her arms on the table.

So Soul, instead of making her sit down for the rest of the night, promised to dance with her if she would just rest for a few minutes. He watched as she gazed out at the other dancing people out on the floor with longing, wanting to be out there with them. Which was why, after only a couple of minutes, he gave in and offered her his hand. "Come on Maka, before you start crying because I'm not letting you dance."

Smiling wide she took his hand in hers and followed him back out onto the floor, simply swaying from side to side with him.

Soul noticed only a few moments into dancing that something was wrong. Her movements were getting sluggish and she was getting paler than normal. He noticed that a sheen of sweat was appearing all over her visible body and her breathing was becoming more and more frequent, as if she couldn't get enough air. But it was only when he tried asking her about it that the fragile balance broke. "Maka, are you—"

And that was when her nose started bleeding openly and she collapsed, right in Soul's outstretched arms. He watched as the dark liquid spread, unable to hear anything but able to see everything with vivid detail. Everything seemed to slow and he noticed that Liz was rushing to his side, trying to get him to say something. He saw Blair who was checking her pulse and pulling out her phone as she talked, quickly, into the phone.

"—oul! Soul! You need to do something," Someone yelled into his ear, effectively snapping him out of his stupor. Before he knew it he was helping her to sit up while pinching her nose, waiting for the damn ambulance to get there. "We called 911 and they told us they'd be here in a couple of minutes—expecting mothers in states like this are their top priority so they told me they'd hurry up but—" and that was when they heard the sirens, blaring loud enough to hear even from the backyard. "I'm gonna go get them and lead them back here. Keep her like that for a few minutes," Soul looked up and found that it was Liz who had been speaking, now running off to do as she said.

Within minutes the paramedics were in the backyard and were securing her to a gurney with a brace around her neck and an IV in her arm. Her nose had stopped bleeding only a little but she was still unconscious and Soul could spot blood coming out where the IV went in her vein. He noticed that her dress was ruined, completely stained by the liquid that had been running freely not too long ago. Her chest was still rising but it was rapid and shallow, a big difference from the girl he knew to be calm and collected all the time.

When they finally got to the hospital they hurried her into the hospital and into the emergency room. When Soul even tried to follow he found himself barricaded, told that he wasn't allowed inside. She was going straight into surgery and there was no possible way that they would let him in. "You're kidding me! That's my wife and kid in there; you can't expect me to just sit here waiting for some doctor with a stick up his ass to come and tell me whether it was good news or bad!"

"Sir we understand how you must be feeling but we expect you to stay out here and will make sure that you do. Even if it means barricading the emergency room doors you are not allowed inside. Now, if you would just tell me who her normal doctor is we can get right to it," The nurse at the doors said, obviously peeved that she'd been stuck with the job of keeping him busy.

"Stein. Franken Stein or something," Soul replied, distracted.

"Dr. Stein is currently out right now but do you know if she preferred any other—"

"No. That's her doctor. She's been going to him since she was younger. Call him and tell him who the patient is and he'll come. He's been on her case since she found out she's pregnant and told me personally that if we ever needed him he'd be here. So get him on the damn phone and call him already."

The nurse gave him a hard, barely piercing look before nodding and walking off, obviously pissed at his behavior. The thing was, Soul couldn't bring himself to care. His wife, his _wife_ he remembered as he fought the urge to punch the wall, was bleeding and unconscious, a terrible combination in his mind. Only a few things would at least calm his nerves a little bit: if they told him she was stable, along with the baby, or two, if Stein would just get there and start working his magic.

It was only when Soul finally sat down that Soul remembered something peculiar: the blood staining Maka's white dress hadn't been red. It had been black.

Soul remembered everything with vague clarity, barely even remembering when his friends had arrived. He'd simply sat down in one of the waiting room chairs and had hung his head in his hands as he waited for someone to tell him something about his wife.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder Soul looked up and found the concerned eyes of Blackstar and Kid staring down at him. "Soul…go clean up man. You look like hell," Blackstar said, which Soul took to mean he actually cared what happened. At the least, he wasn't spouting nonsense. That was when Soul knew the guy was worried.

But Soul shook his head and leaned back in the seat, finding that it wasn't only the two of them there. The girls were there too, along with Marie—Stein's wife, Soul remembered—and Spirit, which Soul didn't find surprising. The man looked only a little better than Soul felt, although his eyes were bloodshot as if from crying. Soul couldn't blame the man; he'd felt close to that edge many times within the last few hours.

"I can't leave now. She's been in there for hours and no one wants to tell me anything. I'm not moving from this spot until someone does," He said, with a certainty that everyone knew not to fight.

Everyone looked at the young albino before them with pity, almost knowing how terrible the man felt that sat in front of them. But they couldn't possibly know; not one of them would know until they were married and their loved ones went through this. The man was so dedicated to his wife that he'd sat in the waiting room, almost entirely covered with the black blood from his wife, for quite a while.

It was a while longer until Stein, still in his surgery scrubs, came out of the O.R. with his lips set in a grim line. He walked up to the group but only looked at two men in particular. "Soul Evans, Spirit Albarn, I need to speak with the two of you in private. It's hospital protocol," He said, his voice tired and quiet even in the already silent waiting room.

Soul immediately rose from his seat to follow while Spirit, looking sadly curious, did the same. All of the people in the waiting room watched as they walked off, staring at the door that they'd disappeared into.

"There were some difficulties," Were the first words out of Stein's mouth, which struck a coldness through Soul's chest that reminded him of the time he'd gotten the scar that stretched from the top of his chest to his hip. But somehow, this was much, much worse.

"Don't tell me she…" Spirit whispered, dread taking over as he watched the man he practically considered a brother pull out a bottle of alcohol, pouring three glasses of the golden liquid.

"Thankfully I arrived in time to save her and the baby. The doctor that was working before I arrived wasn't experienced enough to know how to save her, not having my knowledge of her…condition. But her baby…your baby," Stein said, handing Soul one of the three glasses with a grim frown. "I had to deliver the baby by C-section to stop the flow of blood. It looked as if Maka was going into early labor at twenty-six weeks and because of her condition it was making her bleed out everywhere."

Soul looked up at the pale haired doctor, his dread easing up only the slightest bit as he pushed the shot glass a little farther away from him. "Is the baby…is the baby okay?"

Stein nodded, reluctantly giving the new dad some relieving news. "Because of how early the baby was delivered we had to put it on a machine, allowing it to breathe. We've hooked up a feeding tube until it's old enough to breathe on its own and then, if Maka is conscious by then, she will be able to nurse on her own. But, Soul, Spirit…Maka's outlook is looking grim at this point. She lost a lot of blood and her type is…special, to say the least. It's rare, a one in five hundred thousand chance, to find someone with blood like hers. And the only reason I know about it is because I was allowed to research it, looking after someone with this condition."

"What's…what's the condition?" Spirit asked swiftly, only wanting to figure out what was going on, find the pieces to the puzzle to fix his little girl. As if it were that easy.

Stein sighed, a heavy and troubled sound. "Black Blood Syndrome. The affected is harder to injure—bones are harder to break, bruises harder, is pretty hard to cut, immune to almost all diseases—and is usually a very healthy individual. It has no unusual symptoms. But when the person is injured on the inside with internal bleeding, it has to find a way out some way or another. With pregnant women they are unusually vulnerable to bleeding out for some reason or another, always when labor starts—whether miscarrying or early labor or on the due date. But I was able to stop the bleeding, in time thankfully. The only problem is…she doesn't have enough blood in her system and won't for a while if we don't find someone with the same condition. This is where the two of you come in.

"One with Black Blood Syndrome can get it in one of three ways. The most common is by intercourse, with certain conditions that we have yet to uncover. Second is by mixing blood, rubbing two cuts together or something of the like. And finally, the rarest is genetically, which happens only to a person with two carriers, not two people with the actual illness. I would like to extract a few drops of both of your blood to test and, if they're a match, take some blood to give to Maka. So, who's first?"

Soul had been the first to step up, wincing as Stein stuck the needle through his skin—he'd always had a hard time with needles, always hurting more than others described. And when his blood had come out black in the clear vial Stein hadn't even said a word, just taking out some clear bottles and started filling them up.

And so it was, an hour or so later, that Soul found himself sitting next to Maka's bed and watching her still, tiny form.

Soul couldn't believe how tiny Maka looked in comparison to all the months that she'd had that belly. She looked even tinier than when he'd first met her, a little hollow without their baby there. Well, he thought idly, at least there wouldn't be any more space between them when they kissed or slept together; that was one thing he would almost happily admit at that point.

But then he would think about the predicament—Maka unconscious, their baby only able to breathe through a machine—and his thoughts would go south.

"Soul, you seriously need to clean up," Soul sat up and turned to find Liz standing in the doorway, leaning against it as she watched Soul with caring eyes. "Stein already said that you've done all you can. Now all you can do is wait—preferably not smelling like BO."

Soul shook his head, turning to look back at his wife. "Liz, if you don't mind I'd like to wait here until she wakes up. Until then, I'll be here."

Liz sighed but ignored him, instead going to stand next to him, a hand wrapped around his upper arm. "Soul…depriving yourself of a bath or food won't help Maka wake up. Trust me when I say that I'm almost as worried as you are; that doesn't stop me from basic hygiene needs and while I…kind of know what you're feeling, it shouldn't stop you either."

It was silent for a few minutes as Soul processed what she said, a little slow with how little sleep he'd gotten. "Liz…I don't know why but…I can't help but feel a little hopeless. I just want her to wake up so we can go see our baby together, how it should've been in a few months." He felt tears gathering, fighting the urge to let them fall in front of the person who had seen him cry more than anyone else. "Why did this have to happen to us?"

Liz didn't have an answer, instead gently patting his shoulder. "Patti and I are fighting over Kid," She blurted suddenly, not knowing how to put it any other way. "I knew Kid first and I just…I've felt something for him for a while now. Which was why, a few weeks ago, I ended up sleeping with him."

It was quiet for quite a few minutes as Soul digested this information. "The day of your wedding, we were barely speaking to each other because I found out that I was…that I'm pregnant. And it has to be Kid's; I haven't told him yet but I told Patti the night before the wedding and she was—and still is—pissed at me and I just don't know what to do. Which is why I'm talking to you about this, because you know us better than anyone else."

Soul sighed as he felt her arms wrapping around him, asking for some kind of guidance from her 'little brother'. "Liz…I think it's safe to say that you screwed up. What are you supposed to do with the baby? You can't survive on your own and I doubt your pride will let you take money from Kid. But you'll need it Liz," He said, mustering all of the seriousness he could just to get him to understand his point. "Hell, you probably wouldn't even take money from _me_ if I gave it to you. You need to understand—"

"I _do_ understand Soul! But when Kid loves Patti as much as he does, what kind of chance do I stand? I'll be left in the dust while they have their happily ever after," She wailed, near tears as Soul wrapped his arms around her. He felt her trembling with almost sobs, ready to break down. But then, there was someone in the open doorway, looking rather curious.

"Soul, Liz, any updates?" Kid asked, looking rather disheveled with his hair sticking up in places and his clothes looking a little dirty. "Everyone else is wondering about her."

Soul pulled himself away from Liz, getting up from his seat before pushing her into it. "Actually, I need to talk to you Kid. Liz, watch Maka for a few minutes while I talk to him," He said, feeling her eyes on him as he walked out of the room, leading Kid to the cafeteria where he got two cups of hot coffee. He set one in front of Kid and kept the other for himself, sitting down at one of the quieter sections.

"Soul, why do you want to talk to me when you could be worry about your wife and child?" Kid asked, completely oblivious to Soul's reasons.

"What do you feel for Liz? Other than being close to her," Soul asked, taking a few sips of his bitter coffee. "Because she told me something happened between the two of you a few weeks ago and I want to know what the hell you're going to do," Soul told him, watching with some kind of satisfaction as Kid tensed up, frowning as he took a sip of coffee.

"You have no idea what's going on Soul so just stay out of it."

"I won't just 'stay out of it' Kid," Soul harshly replied, leaning forward to glare into the black haired man's eyes. "I've known them longer than you think and it's my job to look out for them. Right now Liz…Liz takes top priority for a very big reason. So, I have to know: what is up between the three of you?"

With a sigh Kid leaned forward, resting most of his weight on his arms. "I love Patti, I really do but she's…she still acts like a kid and I don't want that. I don't want my kids to have a mother who acts just like them. And Liz…she understands me. She gets that I'm OCD and tries to help me with it, not beat me out of it like Patti does. But I don't know how to tell Patti how I feel, especially with what happened. She's going to be pissed with anything I tell her."

"She already knows, Kid," Soul replied. He watched as Kid stared, stunned. "She also knows that Liz is…well, Liz is pregnant. And she needs someone. She needs you there for her, not some other guy who is willing to overlook the fact that she has a kid and marry her despite the fact. She needs the actual father—you—there with her along the way.

"I'm not telling you to dump Patti and marry Liz. I'm telling you to make the right decision, despite what Patti or Liz might make of it." Soul explained, taking the last sip of his coffee before standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a wife to look after." And so he walked off, leaving Kid to think about what he'd said.

Soul couldn't seem to get any sleep anymore, instead finding himself staying awake while worrying about his wife.

Stein had said she'd regain consciousness in a few days but it had been a week and a half already, without change. He stayed by her side most of the time, keeping himself away from the nursery for the time being. Soul was resolved to not meet his child until Maka woke up, although his resolve was weakening every day that passed and Maka didn't wake.

Which was why, when Soul found himself waking up almost two weeks after their wedding, when Soul heard a voice asking him to wake up and explain what was going on, he barely took any time before he opened his eyes. And there, sitting up in bed, was Maka.

It took him less than a moment to react, jumping out of his seat and wrapping his arm around her in an embrace that he'd waited way too long for. Maka flinched from the slightest bit of pain in her abdomen—and that was when Maka looked down to find her belly gone. "Soul, what happened? All I remember was the wedding and the reception and you, telling me that everything was going to be okay. What happened to our baby?"

Soul put his hand to her cheek, guiding her emerald eyes to his crimson. "The baby is fine Maka. Stein rescued him or her just in time. He's on a breathing machine, but he's safe. Our baby is safe Maka, and so are you," He said, enveloping her in a hug that made up for lost time.

They were alone for a while, until Stein came in with a clipboard and a somewhat smile. "It's nice to see the two of you awake instead of one. I'll need to run some tests before I can clear you but, if you pass, I can get you a wheel chair so you can go to the nursery and meet your baby. Soul has been waiting patiently for the day and you no doubt want to see the little bundle too Maka," Stein said, beginning his tests as Maka tried her best to get out of bed.

After only a few minutes Stein cleared Maka with the condition that she didn't walk on her own yet; her body was still too weak to carry her own body. And if she did try and failed, she could tear her abdomen open where they went in for her C-section. So Soul agreed, pushing her down the cleared hallways with a smile on his face. "When I said he you know that I didn't know what I was talking about, right? I just took a guess."

Maka laughed, a sweet sound that Soul had come to miss since her accident. "You would've known that I'd kick your ass if you saw the baby without me, so I know you're telling the truth. But I'm happy that you didn't go without me, Soul."

"I wouldn't have gone without you babe," Soul replied, watching as a smile lit up her entire face, even her eyes lighting up. "Now come on, before he's eighteen and out of the house."

Soul could feel his eye twitching, could just feel it as confusion washed over him. And dread. "Maka…what color is that card?" He asked as he closed his eyes, voice calm yet ready to explode as his wife gazed at the little bundle with happiness but, at the same time, confusion.

"It…it's not that bad. I'm sure we can get through it," She mumbled, trying to regain her joy from earlier. But stumbling over words didn't help things. "It's just a…minor difference from what we thought."

"But Maka...the card's _pink_. I don't know how to deal with _pink_," Soul despaired, his fingers holding tight to the handles of Maka's wheelchair as she began cooing to the little bundle who, now that Soul took time to notice, was hooked up with several wires and tubes. A machine was nearby, giving the baby air while it couldn't breathe on its own. "It thought you said it was a boy!"

A sharp glare from Maka cut off his complaints, instead turning his gaze soft as he watched Maka put her finger in the baby's palm. "Yes, but I told you it was just a guess. Now we have a little girl," She replied, smiling as the little girl move her hand and grasped Maka's outstretched finger. "Plus, you sound like Chrona with the 'I don't know how to deal with this' crap," She reminded her husband, looking up at him from her chair to send him a huge grin. "As much as I wanted a boy, I'm kind of relieved to get a little girl."

"I'm not!" Soul groaned suddenly, slouching low as he thought over all of the preparations. "I bought a ton of boys stuff Maka! I don't even think I know what to buy for a girl!" He complained, sounding to Maka like he was almost in tears. "And the room, I thought it would be for a boy. There's no way I'm letting my little girl stay in there!"

"You can and you will, Soul Evans! Just because she's a girl doesn't mean she can't stay in the loft," She replied, her voice soft and quiet in the room. The only sounds in there were the occasional beeping of machines and their voices, almost silent with how quiet they were trying to be. "But it does mean we have to think of different names, you know. I wasn't thinking of the possibility of a girl."

"Me neither," Soul said, head shaking back and forth. "But I_ was _thinking something along the lines of Blaze."

Maka looked up at him, thoughtful. "Actually…I like the name. But how about…Maria as a middle name? Nothing too flashy but not too boring. God knows we don't need flashy anymore," She whispered, gently running her finger over their baby's arm with a gentle smile on her face. Soul noticed with a burst of joy that this was his _family_. Not the 'family' he'd grown up with or just the two of them, only Soul and Maka. Now, it was the three of them, little Blaze Maria Evans a sweet bundle added to the family.

"You know what," Soul suddenly said, catching Maka the slightest bit off guard as he crouched down to Maka's eye level to gaze at his baby girl with what most would call pure happiness. "I think that it's the perfect name, Mrs. Evans."

**A few months later…**

The weather was warm and the sky was clear, rays of sun shining down on the backyard of the Evans family as a barbeque pit was pulled out, a small pool inflated and filled with water a ways away from the huge, in ground pool that reached twelve feet at its deepest. Large, cushioned lounge chairs were pulled out to be used by the expecting women who were trying their best to help set up.

"Really guys, we can help set up!" The brunette tried in vain to dissuade the men from their task—which seemed to be making her into a lazy bones. "Just because I'm having a baby doesn't mean I can't help just a little bit, Blackstar!"

A roll of his eyes showed that the blue haired young man wasn't going to be giving in. "Tsubaki, I don't want something like what happened to Maka to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do if I was in Soul's position," He said, his eyes darting to the white haired red eyed man whose house they were at for most of the day. "The guy's a wreck," He said, as if it was the only explanation Tsubaki needed.

"Hey! I heard that and I'm telling!" The blonde who, Tsubaki noticed with some amusement had already pulled out her own lounger and was laying across it, yelled in reply. But it wasn't taken too seriously; with a belly as big as hers was now, it was hard not to look at her and your eyes turn to mush as you imagined anything and everything that had to do with babies. At least, that's how Tsubaki looked at it. "Tsubaki, just ignore your man and come sit next to me where the sun feels good. Trust me when I say that you'll forget all about your problems."

It only took a few moments before her fiancé, the black haired Kid, came waltzing over to sit next to her. His arms around her, Tsubaki couldn't imagine the two not being together—although the consequences weren't exactly good. "Hey so…how's Patti taking you two getting engaged?" Tsubaki quietly asked, as if raising her voice would break the peace they had.

Kid shrugged, tightening his hold around Liz as he moved to let her lay on him, his back resting on the lounger. "She reacted just like we thought she would; she's not talking to us. As bad as it felt when she was moving out, she at least answered our calls back then. Now she won't answer calls, emails, when we actually go to her place and _knock_. Right now, Soul's playing peacemaker since he's the only one of us that she still talks to. No doubt she'd talk to you two or Maka, as long as we weren't with you."

"Yeah," Soul said, jumping into the conversation and pulling up one of the loungers for himself as he sat down, practically falling into the seat. "She's pretty pissed about the whole thing, but I kind of think she has no idea what to feel at this point. She avoids talking about you two and the twins like the plague but, at the same time, she looks interested too. Like she _wants _to know," He said, sighing as he ran a hand through his white locks. "I think if you just give her some time—"

"Who's ready to go in the pool?" A high pitched, playful voice reached their ears before they heard the childish giggle that could only belong to one little girl.

Everyone turned to find the once again tiny Maka walking out in a tiny, white and black—and sexy, Soul thought as he smiled wide—string bikini that showed off her curvier, yet still petite, figure. Soul couldn't help but notice that since she'd been pregnant, her chest had gotten bigger and she'd gotten a little rounder at the hips, giving her curves that he _knew _weren't there before. But that wasn't the only thing that caught his attention. While the ashy blonde, emerald eyed beauty that was his wife interested him, he was a little more worried about the little fair haired beauty in her arms.

Without a word Soul swooped in and scooped up the white haired bundle, throwing her up in the air—successfully getting a few more giggles out of her. As he watched her, he couldn't help but admire how much she'd gotten from him. Her hair, like his, was perfectly white but was styled more like Maka's, straight until it curled at the ends. Her eyes were shaped like Maka's, large and round, but definitely colored like his, maybe a few shades darker. He had to admit; he liked the fact that she looked like him. But there was one thing he didn't like… "Why is she wearing a bikini?"

The little girl giggled and clapped her hands together, an adorable gesture that she'd picked up from her mother, as he looked at the little outfit Maka had put her in. The swimsuit was a two piece but revealed little. It was perfectly modest for a baby girl. "Because Blair picked it up and told me I better put it on her before summer was over. And she made me promise to send her pictures while she was on her honeymoon."

Sighing, Soul couldn't fight his wife's decision to listen to Blaze's godmother. Nothing would change her mind. "Fine. But after this it's onesies. I don't want my daughter walking around in bikinis!" He said, watching his wife give him a glare as she looked at the pool.

"Good luck with that hun. We don't own any one pieces," She replied, matter-a-factly, a smug smile glued on her lips. "Now, if you're not gonna grill yet bring her in the pool while I start. People are getting hungry!"

Smiling, Soul put the little girl on his shoulders, making sure that she was secure, before going get the hose and putting it in the small inflatable pool. "You wanna go swimming baby girl?" He asked, his voice raising just like every other time he spoke to her. And the reaction was instant: a fit of giggles and clapping, not stopping until he started talking again. But this time, she didn't have time to stop when he pulled her off his shoulders and sat her in the small kiddie pool.

Maka watched the two, remembering how reluctant Soul had been too raise a little girl. But it hadn't been long before he'd become wrapped around her littlest finger. "So how is life with the baby going so far?" Tsubaki asked, snapping Maka out of her stupor as she realized that she'd already turned on the grill. Seriously, why was _she _left with this?

"Well, she's a bit of a night owl, kind of like us—so it's not that bad. But when we want to go to sleep and she's still wide awake, it's like a battle of wills. And Soul usually loses; I think there hasn't been a night since she got home that she's slept in her own crib. She usually sleeps between us in bed, just because it stops her crying. But it needs to change," She said, awkwardly trying to flip the burgers with the huge spatula. But when someone's hand take it from her, Maka smiled gratefully up to Kid as he nodded, easily taking the job.

"Well, I guess it's understandable. She loves you two to death," Liz replied, sipping at her lemonade. "What about when the two of you play?"

Maka smiled, remembering the last time she had gone in to record with Soul. She'd sat in her little swing and watched, entranced. "I think she likes when we play music. Like last time she was crying Soul had gotten annoyed and gone played the piano to calm his nerves. The instant the music reached her ears, she stopped and stared in the direction it was coming from. And it wasn't long before she was out."

"I could only wish it was that easy," Tsubaki muttered, watching Soul with appreciation. "I just hope that he's not too much like Blackstar. I don't think I could put up with two whining boys."

Maka, remembering the younger years of Blackstar, could wholly agree. "I'd feel bad _for _you. But the one I'm already feeling bad for is Liz and Kid; _twins_. I can barely keep up with Blaze, I don't know if I could take care of two of her. Plus Soul and I'd be elbow deep in work. I have to cook dinner, get her food, clean the house, all three floors, and I have to get the CD done for the label. I'm just so happy that I don't have to worry about law anymore; while I loved it, the work was too much for a new mom to work with.

Tsubaki nodded in understanding, flinching as she watched her fiancée cannonball into the large pool. "Well, I doubt this will make you feel any better but I think you just lost about half your pool water," She replied, an amused smile on her lips as she watched Maka sigh and put her hand on her hip, looking ready to tell off the blue haired idiot. Tsubaki only laughed as she found Blackstar returning with a medium sized bump on his head.

It was nearing afternoon when everyone began to clear away the food and drinks, getting ready to start a fire when the little girl started to protest. Whoever held her fought to keep her in their arms, fining the little girl trying to wiggle out of their hands. Before long everyone had given up and she had calmed down a little when she reached her father's arms. She looked like she was about to fall asleep, her head resting comfortably on Soul's shoulder. Before long, though, she was fighting it; Maka could just tell that something was wrong with the little girl. And then, the inevitable when it came to a tired baby—the _crying _and the _screaming_.

"_Soul!_ What did you do?" She asked tersely, turning to find him trying in vain to get her to calm down.

"I have no idea! Maybe she's hungry?" He offered, holding out the baby to his wife who took the baby as she looked over the white haired infant with a critical eye. "What's wrong?"

"It's not an 'I'm hungry' cry. Or a dirty diaper cry. Not even a 'something hurt me' cry. I don't know what she wants," She muttered, the look on her face indicating that her mind was running a mile a minute trying to figure it out. "Soul, put her swing in the music room and play for her. Maybe it'll help calm her down," She suggested, giving the baby to her husband who sighed and nodded.

Before long all of the adults were sitting outside enjoying the heat from the fire while enjoying s'mores. But it didn't last; the pregnant women were quick to tire out with their extra loads. They helped clean up the little that Maka allowed and said their goodbye, leaving through the gate that led to the driveway. Maka could hear their cars turning on before she went inside, spying their headlights through the curtained windows of the kitchen.

Maka spent a little bit of time cleaning. She washed a few platters that they'd used for the burgers and hotdogs and other food, laying them on a towel so they could dry. Then she went through the laundry room, grabbing a pair of loose, thin sweats and a tiny camisole as she headed upstairs—remembering absently that Soul had never come back from calming down Blaze. A little curious, Maka hurried up the stairs a little faster than before.

Then, minutes later, she slowly opened the bedroom door to find a lump halfway under the blankets of Maka and Soul's bed. Maka saw a splash of spiky white hair on the pillows, Soul's brooding crimson eyes closed in peaceful slumber. He was on his back, one arm hanging over the side of the bed, a halfway empty bottle looking as if it were only moments from falling. The other hand was keeping Blaze from sliding off of his chest. Her hair, startling white, stood out against the tanned skin of his chest. Her eyes, so similar to his, were closed and were more than relaxed. Happy. Content.

Smiling peacefully, Maka only took enough time to change before she pulled back the cover and climbed into bed. She didn't settle until her head rested on Soul's chest and she put her arm across his abdomen.

Soul woke when he felt her hand running over his abs and picked up his head to look down at her. "Hmmm…" He groaned. "What time is it?" He asked as he picked up his hand—putting the half empty bottle on the side table—and ran a hand through his white locks.

"It's nearly eleven; go back to sleep honey," Maka replied sweetly, pulling the covers up to cover the three of them as she turned off the lamps in the room. "Good night," She said, curling into her husband's side as she listened to the quiet breathing of her daughter.

"Good night, Maka," Soul replied, placing a gentle kiss on Maka's forehead before the couple finally went to bed.

Peace at last.

**A/N: So I finally finished part three and I'm kind of unsatisfied with (translation=hate) the ending. But, this means I can get on with the next one shot—which, if things are going as they are, will be another part of this arc. All human, musician Maka, the like. A continuation from this one. Most likely, it'll be of Soul and Maka later on in their marriage when Blaze is four or five and they're successful musicians with a big fanbase and social standing. And they get into a fight. Their first serious fight. Ever. **

**Anyway, I've been in a good mood lately. With Legend of Korra coming out in only a couple of days, I am so excited and just in a good mood. My drawing and writing has been getting better and happening more often. Like the fact that I was finally able to finish this damn one shot; I just needed a little push in the right direction. **

**Well, that's all I really had to say. Oh, and R&R please. I reply to all reviews (or I'll at least try). And please, if you're not logged in while reviewing put your username in the review. I'll actually take the time to look you up so I can reply. **


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